( SHADOWS OF THE PAST )
I couldn’t breathe.
My body locked up as I stared into the face of a nightmare I had spent years trying to forget.
Lorenzo.
His dark eyes glittered with amusement, his lips curling into a smirk that made my stomach turn.
"Well, well," he drawled, stepping forward. "Look who finally crawled out of her little cage."
My pulse pounded in my ears.
This wasn’t happening.
I had escaped him.
I had left that life behind.
But now, standing in the dim glow of a flickering streetlight, I realized something terrifying—Lorenzo had never truly been gone.
He had been waiting.
Watching.
And now, he was here.
"Lila," he murmured, his voice smooth, mocking. "Did you really think you could run from me?"
I took a step back, my grip tightening around the strap of my bag. "
