The Day Our Promise Breaks

Chapter 551

Night had fallen. Under cover of darkness, Dahlia drove a car belonging to one of the male orderlies from the psychiatric hospital to Maple Garden.

She parked across from the building where Evelyn lived, in one of the ground- level parking spots.

Sitting in the car, she watched as Evelyn and Josephine went upstairs, her eyes narrowing with poisonous intent as she fixed her gaze on the windows of their floor.

She waited, watching, until the lights finally went out.

Another hour passed. Only when she was certain they were asleep did Dahlia quietly open the trunk.

She dragged out a massive metal gas can, nearly half as heavy as she was.

The world was silent.

Struggling under the weight, Dahlia crept upstairs, picked the lock to Evelyn's apartment, and slipped inside.

Moving with chilling precision, she unscrewed the cap of the gas can. The sharp tang of gasoline quickly filled the air as the clear liquid gushed onto the hardwood floor.

When the living room was soaked, she carried what remained-about a third of the can-to the master and second bedroom doors, dousing each threshold. Finally, she walked to the front door, pulled a lighter from her pocket, and in the flickering flame, her face twisted into a vicious, hateful smile.

She flicked the lighter and tossed it toward the master bedroom.

caught fire

erupted, Dahlia's voice, full of venom and curses, rang

Evelyn had no right to happiness. Evelyn

rest of the gasoline across it, cutting off any hope of escape for Evelyn

panicked screams

Evelyn's frantic cry was followed by

Dahlia had poured was overwhelming-thick, black smoke rolled through the

thought was for Josephine and she tried to reach the master bedroom. But most of the room

was no water. There was no way through the

in the living room-she couldn't even call for

the blaze roared

help, every breath only brought more searing

her sleeve over her nose and

no idea how her mother was faring in the other room, no dea if rescue was on the way. All she could feel was the agonizing burn in her throat, the growing difficulty of

She collapsed onto the floor,

the habit of waiting outside Evelyn's building after

he didn't want to annoy them, so he only drove over late at night when

arrived, he saw a