Elena POV
As Ryder and I walked through the forest, the cool night air brushed against my skin, a stark contrast to the heat still swirling inside me from everything that had just gone down. The moonlight filtered through the trees, casting a silvery glow over the path, but I was too lost in my thoughts to notice.
I couldn’t shake what Ryder had said by the lake, which pointed to Zach being Dr. X. The idea felt like a punch to the gut, each step making it hurt more. Zach had been in my life forever, someone I used to trust. Even though he’d let me down big time since my 16th birthday, I still couldn’t wrap my head around him being the one who wanted to hurt me so badly. The weight of everything was crushing me, and on top of that, after falling into the lake, I was completely drained.
R
