Chapter Twelve – The Hidden Blade
Hope doesn’t survive by chance. It survives by teeth and claws.
The next morning, Julia stood at the kitchen sink, staring at the knife Daniel had left on the counter.
It was just a paring knife, small and silver, glinting beneath the morning light.
But to her, it looked like power.
Her pulse raced.
She had never thought of herself as violent. She had never wanted to be.
But Daniel wasn’t leaving her a choice.
She needed something—anything—that could give her a chance when the time came.
Her fingers hovered above the blade.
The air in the house felt heavy, as though even the walls were watching.
If Daniel noticed it missing, she was finished.
But if she left it there, she would stay powerless.
Her injured hand throbbed, wrapped in bandages, bu
