CHAPTER FOUR

The words hung in the air as I stopped walking.

Don't worry, Gabi.

What did that mean?

I stood in the hallway, my back against the wall, staring at the closed door, my eyes filled with tears.

She said it was done; there was nothing we could do.

But then she whispered that.

For a moment, I let myself believe she meant something hopeful. That she had changed her mind after all these years,she can finally stand beside me.

I almost smiled.

Then I heard her say, "I will make sure everything goes perfectly."

My blood turned to ice.

She did not say it like she was sorry.

She said it like she was excited.

The little hope I had shattered. My sister wasn't going to help me…she wasn't going to save me.

I was left all alone in this.

Two weeks had passed since my parents told me I would marry Damiano De Luca, and since then my life stopped being mine.

In that time, I had become a ghost.

I walked the halls of my own home like I no longer belonged there. I ate meals in silence while my parents discussed guest lists and flower arrangements.

I sat in my room while Elena tiptoed past my door, afraid to look me in the eye. I stopped brushing my hair, and I stopped pretending I had any say in what happened to my body or my future.

A ghost that's all I was now. A girl trapped in a cage, waiting to be handed over.

Six days remained.

Six days until I would become Mrs. Damiano De Luca.

The name felt like poison.

But tonight, hearing my mother's voice, something inside me cracked open.

Maybe I didn't need to stay a ghost.

Maybe I needed to disappear entirely; I had spent fourteen days waiting for someone to save me.

And no one came.

So I would save myself.

My heart started beating faster.

That is a stupid, dangerous, and impossible idea, but I have to try… I have to do something.

I pulled my suitcase onto my bed. The zipper sounded loud in the quiet house. I opened my closet and started grabbing clothes, jeans, and shirts. The boots I wore for hiking, I stuffed everything inside without folding it.

Then I stopped.

Where would I go?

I had no money of my own. My father controlled the accounts, and my phone was on the family plan. Every card in my wallet had his name on it.

But I had something.

Under my mattress was an envelope. Cash from summer jobs was three hundred and forty dollars.

Not enough to disappear forever, but enough to get somewhere far from here.

I shoved the envelope in my pocket.

My room was on the second floor, but an oak tree grew close to the house. When we were kids, Elena and I used to climb down it.

I opened the window. The night air hit my face. The branches reached toward me.

I could do this.

I threw my suitcase out; it landed in the bushes with a soft thud. Then I swung my leg over the sill.

The rough bark scraped my palms. My foot slipped once and my breath caught, but I held tighter. The branch bent down, but it did not break.

When my feet hit the ground, I grabbed the suitcase and ran toward the back gate. The latch clicked open.

I pushed through and kept running toward the road where the streetlamp made a circle of light.

On getting closer, a headlight appeared.

A car moved slowly, like it was looking for something.

I dropped behind a bush.

The car stopped at the gate, a black SUV with tinted windows.

The driver stepped out.

He walked to the gate, and pressed the intercom. Then he looked over his shoulder.

Right at me.

He smiled.

"Miss Gabrielle," he called. "It's past midnight. You should be inside."

I didn't move.

"I saw you climb out the window," he said. "Very impressive."

I recognized him, Marco, my father's head of security. He taught me how to ride a bike.

"Please, Marco," I said, standing up. My voice shook. "Let me go."

His smile faded.

"I can't."

"Please. They're making me marry someone dangerous."

Marco looked at the ground; his eyes were sad.

"I know."

"Then let me…"

"Your father called me an hour ago. He said you might run, and if I let you leave, he would fire me. Then he would find you himself."

I stepped back.

"Don't."

"I'm sorry." Marco reached for my arm.

I turned and ran.

My boots pounded the pavement. I ran toward the woods. I heard him running behind me; he was faster.

His hand grabbed my elbow; I twisted. The suitcase fell as he caught my other arm.

"Let me go!"

"You know I can't."

I fought and kicked. But he was stronger; he pulled me back toward the house.

The front door opened.

My father stood there with a cold, hard expression.

"Bring her inside."

Marco dragged me up the stairs and stopped at the end of the hall. A door I had never noticed.

"No." I pulled back.

Marco opened the door.

Inside was a bed, pillow, and a window with bars.

My father appeared behind me.

"You will stay here until the wedding."

"You can't lock me up like an animal."

"I can."

Marco looked at me one last time, his jaw tightened. Then he pushed me inside, slammed the door shut, and turned the lock.

"Goodnight, Gabrielle."

I pounded my fists against the door until my knuckles bled.

No one answered.

I slid to the floor and stared at the barred window.

There was no way out.

Six more nights, and then I would belong to Damiano De Luca.

I lay down and closed my eyes.

I would rather die than wear his ring.

Then moments later a voice whispered from the darkness.

My eyes flew open.