Chapter 149

Serena froze for a good thirty seconds before everything clicked. A few months back, after her adoptive mother Eleanor passed away, she had listed the house in Westbridge with a real estate agency, thinking she’d sell it and use the money to pay back Matthew. Then life happened, and she shoved the whole thing to the back of her mind. "I’ll be there right away." She hung up and shot Jake Taylor a quick look before throwing on some clothes and rushing out the door. Stepping back into the town after so long felt surreal. Since her adoptive parents passed, she hadn’t set foot here once. People might say she was heartless, like she didn’t care. But only she knew how messed up she really felt inside. She pulled out the keys and unlocked the door. The lock was dusty and rusted—clearly, it’d been a while. The moment she stepped inside, a musty, damp smell hit her. This tiny house, once home to the three of them, now had cobwebs everywhere. She gave a bitter little smile and headed into the roo