Chapter 37

Liliana paused in the middle of pulling her hair back and replied, "No. We'll have to reschedule."

"Let me guess, Jerk Forrest was too busy fighting for his sweetheart's dog to make time for his own divorce," Juniper scoffed. She had wanted to say something ever since she saw the news. She'd held back all night, not wanting to upset Liliana, but now it just came tumbling out. "If people knew his brother-in-law was facing serious charges while he was championing a dog, they'd crucify him!"

Liliana tied her hair into a ponytail, her eyelids flickering slightly. She forced a smile, as if it didn't bother her. "It's fine. I don't have time for a divorce right now anyway."

She grabbed her bag and left. She was heading to the police station to see if they had found anything new from the traffic cameras in the area.

As soon as she pulled into traffic, her phone rang. It was Vida. The shrill, urgent ringing sent a shiver of dread down Liliana's spine. After the ultimatum she'd delivered this morning, another call so soon could only mean trouble.

She answered, and Vida's panicked voice crackled through the speaker, mixed with angry shouts in the background. "Liliana, get to Riverbend General, now! They're here... they're trying to attack us..."

The line went dead.

She didn't know if "they" were the victim's family or angry online vigilantes. Without a second thought, Liliana made a U-turn and sped toward the hospital.

Juniper's apartment was close, only about a ten-minute drive away. Before she even reached the hospital entrance, Liliana saw a crowd surrounding Chuck's car. They were pelting it with eggs and rotten vegetables, trapping the car in place. Through the smeared windshield, she could just make out Chuck and Vida inside.

Liliana jumped out of her car and started running toward the entrance to get security. But she had only taken a few steps when Chuck lowered his window a crack and pointed at her. "That's my daughter! If you want someone to blame, go after her!"

An egg sailed through the gap and splattered across his face. He quickly rolled the window back up.

"What about Liliana?" Vida cried.

"Tch! She's young, she can take a few hits," Chuck spat, wiping his mouth with a napkin. "Maybe this will light a fire under her to get Hale out. The suffering he's going through in there is a hundred times worse than this."

Seeing the mob change direction and surge toward Liliana, he gunned the engine and sped away.

The crowd wasn't the victim's family; they were online activists, their faces twisted with a self-righteous fury. Frustrated at not being able to get to the people in the car they redirected all their pent-up anger at Liliana.

She turned to run but collided with someone and fell to the ground. Vegetables, and plastic water bottles rained down on her. Something sharp struck her arm. A few security guards rushed over and formed a barmer, preventing the mob from physically attacking her but doing little to stop the barrage of projectiles.

Onlookers pointed and whispered. A few, looking horrified, called the police. Seeing this, the mob quickly dispersed.

Liliana's hair was matted and wet, and blood trickled from a scrape on her knee. A young nurse rushed over to her. "Miss, are you alright? Let me help you get cleaned up."

The nurse, who had witnessed the entire event, looked at Liliana with pity. She had seen Liliana's own parents throw her to the wolves.

Liliana's gaze traveled past the nurse to a couple standing at the hospital entrance. Perhaps it was because he was so striking, or perhaps it was because some

internal compass in her was always

pointed toward him but she spotted Cédric immediately.