Jessica killed the engine after an hours of driving. The road had ended into a dirt clearing that opened up into a wall of towering trees. An entrance into a forest—it looked untouched, wild, and secret. My brows pulled together.
Jessica was the first to move. She pushed open the car door without hesitation and stepped out, her heels crunching over dry twigs. I followed, the air immediately damp and cooler against my skin.
I glanced around at the dark canopy stretching ahead, the kind of place that could swallow you whole.
“What are we doing here?” I asked, my voice low, cautious.
Jessica’s eyes cut toward me, steady, unreadable. “The truth you’ve never known about Milton…” she paused, her lips tightening, “…you’ll get to know it today.”
Something in her tone rooted me in unease, but
