Chapter 155

Rain splashed against her skin, and Stella felt like her blood had turned to ice. She instinctively shielded her stomach, fingers digging into her rain-soaked clothes—as if that could somehow keep her secret safe. "Let me go!" She shoved Charles away, stumbling back as her heel sank into the muddy water. Raindrops ran down her lashes, blurring her vision. Charles froze mid-movement, his hand hovering in the air. "Stella, it's not safe here. We need to leave." "Not safe?" She cut him off, her tone colder than the downpour. "Isn't hiding a fake death more dangerous than Jason?" She pointed at Jason, now pinned to the ground by SWAT officers, glaring at them with blood at the corner of his mouth. Charles took a step forward. "If I'd told you, the whole thing would've fallen apart." His eyes lingered on the red marks on her neck, Adam's apple bobbing. "I didn't expect him to go after you." But truthfully? He thought maybe she'd prefer him dead. That this whole act might actually make her h