For three years they called me a freak—and I stayed silent—until they touched my little sister in front of everyone, and the truth I buried finally came out and changed everything.

blinding both standard optics and thermal imaging sensors for ninety seconds. I slipped the canister into my belt pouch, my mind already mapping out the exact sequence of movements required to execute the domestic distraction.

I slipped out of the bedroom, gliding down the narrow hallway like a phantom as the electronic countdown from the burner phone continue reading …