Chapter 30

*"What have I gotten myself into?"*

Evelyn’s reflection stared back at her from the mirror bolted above the tiny bathroom sink.

By this point, six months had passed since the opening events, and Evelyn had turned twenty-six. Evelyn Rose Hayes carried the quiet weight of a life shaped by disappointment. Her mother—a woman who loved too easily and left even faster—had once traded Evelyn’s father for