The Price of Defiance

Camilla's POV

I sat huddled in the corner of my shadowed bedroom. The thick hardcover thriller book in my lap felt like a heavy stone. I stared blankly at the dark ink on the pages, my mind paralyzed by a suffocating, icy fear. The promised safety of the armed police stationed on my front lawn offered zero comfort tonight. Every shifting shadow in the room morphed into his menacing silhouette. My