Ellie’s POV.
Lavinia brought me straight to the hotel she had booked for me. She stayed with me for a little while, but she couldn’t stay long, even though I knew she wanted to. Her mother, Auntie Karen, was waiting for her at a company meeting, and Lavinia didn’t want to raise any suspicions or risk us getting caught.
On the drive here, we talked about what to do next. We agreed that she would only visit me once or twice a week. If she suddenly vanished from home too often, it might make my mom’s people suspicious. I couldn’t risk her safety just because she was helping me, so we planned everything carefully. We even decided on code words in case something ever felt off.
I’d known Lavinia practically my whole life. We’d been best friends since we were little girls. She was like a siste
