Betrayed, Then Back For Blood

Briar and Ellen left the amusement park around 8 PM. They had dinner there a new kids‘ meat from a fried chicken place that came with a toy meant for toddlers.

Ellen had never tried fried chicken before. She loved it, especially the ice–cold cola. She even crunched the leftover ice cubes with a big grin on her face.

It was also the first toy she’d ever received. Even though she was technically too old for it, she looked like she was about to cry. She clutched it like a treasure and kept thanking Briar, promising to take good care of it.

After spending the day with her, Briar liked Ellen even more. She thought the girl was sweet, easy to please, and didn’t ask for much. As they reached Ellen’s place, Briar said, “Start packing your stuff in the next couple of days. I’ll help you move into Moonspring Estate soon.”

“Okay, I will!” Ellen said, beaming with excitement,

Briar nodded and turned to go, then paused. “Oh, and don’t give your new address to anyone. Especially not your foster parents.”

Ellen froze, and her expression turned serious. She nodded hard. “I won’t tell anyone.”

She knew the house wasn’t really hers–her brother had bought it for her. She didn’t want her greedy foster parents showing up and causing problems

for him.

Briar could guess what was going through Ellen’s head, but she didn’t say anything else.

As for how Ellen’s foster parents had treated her, that wasn’t Briar’s business to handle. Sam would deal with it when he came back.

Briar got on her motorcycle and rode off. What she didn’t notice was the plain black car parked across the street. Inside, in the passenger seat, sat a man with a nasty scar on his left cheek.

that night, all four members of the Jennings family were gathered in the living room, looking way too cheerful, like

they were probably working on

the cruel things she’d said

responding. She looked straight at Edgar.

cleared his throat and

you’ve been back for a while now. We thought it’d be nice to throw you

said nothing, just stared at

little forced now. “Your dad thinks it’s a good idea. We want to introduce you to everyone and help you make some friends. Maybe yo can find someone to go shopping with. And it’s good to know

rambled for a bit, but Briar didn’t react. The silence eventually made Halle trail

face darkened. “What? You’re not okay with it, huh? Halle’s doing this for you. You should be grateful. It’s meant to make yo Already tired of the setup, Briar

Well, we’re one of the top families in Shoneport. We

good-”

28

Chapter 19

24:3

you know how close our family is with the Hargreaves family.

the whole point of the party. They were planning to use Briar’s

off the engagement with Briar at the event, so Beatrice could step in without

really cared if Beatrice and Javier were seen together. They were both technically

Briar and Javier’s engagement had been arranged by Edgar’s first wife–who’d passed away–so most people didn’t take it seriously