Shattered Illusions: Love, Lies, and Redemption

Bang.

Mid-sentence, Cara felt a sudden thud at the back of her neck, darkness enveloped her vision, and she collapsed onto the bed.

Lizetta was standing with a metal pipe in her hand, carefully dismantled from a floor lamp just moments ago.

Seeing Cara go down, Lizetta quickly jumped off the bed and dragged Cara onto it.

Afraid that Cara would wake up, Lizetta tied Cara's hands and feet with some clothes and gagged her. Only then did Lizetta, panting heavily, slump beside the bed. Even these actions had left her feeling drained.

But Lizetta had noticed, for the past two days, Cara had been leaving the house at 4:30 AM to do her shopping.

Time was almost up. Pushing herself to stand, Lizetta hurried out of the room.

The mansion was eerily quiet, allowing Lizetta to sneak into Cara's room with ease.

When Lizetta emerged from the room, she was wearing a hat and carrying a shopping bag, her head slightly bowed and back hunched, mimicking Cara's walk to a tee. She grabbed the car keys at the entrance, took a deep breath, and left the mansion.

Outside, under the portico, stood two bodyguards.

heading towards

at her. Her bag tilted, and a pen rolled down the

quickly chased after it, picked it up, and

couldn't see her face, but the distinctive slight lean to the right in her shoulder as she walked, and her attire, left no doubt in their minds that she was Cara. Lizetta managed to get into the car and drive away from the mansion. The bodyguards, accustomed to Cara leaving at

she left the mansion

would come up to

half an hour and wasted

that

Remington Dashiell,

her down," Ray said, about to start his search when Remington

heading to the West residence.

behavior flashed through his mind, his hands

he been too eager

she had asked him where he was going and grabbed his arm,

he left last night and

realized, a vein throbbing on his forehead. Damn it, he just hoped he could find her in time, to stop her from