Chapter 310 Keep the Promise, Break the World
+8 Pearls
Lauren lay motionless on the cold steel table, her body wrapped in silence as stark and sterile as the white surgical lights above her
Her hospital gown was stained with blood, soaked and brittle at the seams. Her face, ghostly pale, had taken on a bluish tint, her lips cracked and darkened with dried blood.
Mia stood at her side, unmoving, like her soul had left her body.
The girl who once overflowed with fire and fury now stood hollowed out.
She stored at Lauren’s face–at the long lashes that would never flutter again, at the mouth that had called her name with such gentleness. And though her expression was frozen, something inside her had broken.
Mis lifted a trembling hand and brushed her fingers along Lauren’s cheek.
Soft. Cold. Lifeless.
“Lauren.” Her voice cracked like splintered glass. “You really left me, didn’t you?”
There was no reply. No rise and fall of breath. No warmth in the skin beneath her fingers
“I want to die too, she whispered, her body trembling, voice thinned out by grief. “I want to lie down beside you and never wake up again. But I can’t
Her fingers curled into a fist on the metal table.
“I made you a promise, and I’m about to break it Her tone shifted–low, flat, and dangerous. “I won’t let the people who hurt you keep breathing. Sharon. George. They don’t deserve to live in your world.”
Mia leaned down, pressed her forehead to Lauren’s
“Wait for me, okay? Walk slo
slow on the road to the afterlife. Let me clean this up, and I’ll catch up
up to you. I swear
Her voice faded into a whisper.
I love you more than I love the world. And the world doesn’t deserve to go unpunished
She stepped back.
And she smiled
It wasn’t a smile of sorrow, or sweetness, or sanity.
It was the kind of smile you see on statues of war gods–cold, immortal, and laced with vengeance.
A month passed.
The sun hung warm and gold over the afternoon sky, pouring light into Josh’s apartment like honey. It bathed the wooden floor, the soft linen couch, and the woman sitting silently at the table.
Mia. She looked calm. Composed. Beautiful, even.
She wore a pale sweater, her hair down in soft waves, and her cheeks flushed with color. To a stranger, she would’ve looked like any other girl enjoying a lazy Sunday.
But Josh krew better.
“Mia,” he called gently from the kitchen, “come eat.”
Chapter 310 keep the Promise Break the World
And slowly day by day, the blood had returned to her cheeks
“Mia?” he asked agam
She rose, walked to the table, and picked up her chopsticks.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before she finally said, “I’m going back to school.
Josh froze. You what?”
I’m better, I should graduate on time.”
He set his chsticks down. “Mia, I can file for a leave on your behalf-
“No,” she interrupted, calm but firm. “I want to finish what I started.
He hesitated. “You’re not planning anything, are you?”
She looked him in the eyes. “I promised Lauren I wouldn’t hurt anyone. And I keep my promises.”
Josh studied her for a long second, then nodded slowly. “Then let me drive you every day.”
“Okay”
He smiled.
+8 Pearls
She smiled back.
But neither of their smiles reached their eyes.
When Josh turned to pick up a napkin, Mia lowered her gaze.
And the rage–pure, burning, unyielding–flared in her again..
Sharon George. You thought a month of quiet meant I’d given up?
She hadn’t rested. Not really. Not when every heartbeat reminded her of Lauren’s last smile. Not when every breath still
tasted like blood.
Every night, while Josh slept soundly beside the wall separating their rooms, Mia worked.
She hacked databases. She traced credit cards. She ran facial recognition on traffic cameras Slowly, carefully, methodically- she hunted them.
And she had found them.
Two ghosts hiding at the edge of a nameless border town, under fake names, surrounded by barbed fences and bribed
silence.
The only thing between them and justice now.. was time.
Just a little longer, Lauren, she thought, picking up her cutlery.
Just a little longer, and I’ll keep my real promise.
