Chapter 416

They couldn't be traffickers, could they? The thought was so absurd it was almost laughable, but Elissa couldn't bring herself to smile.

Who was she?

"Elissa?"

Frank had been waiting at the entrance. When she didn't appear, he started to worry, especially given her condition, and went back to find her. He found her standing on the steps, staring into space with a vacant expression, a world away from the person she had been just moments before. She looked lost, like someone with no home to return to.

A knot of panic tightened in his chest. He gently touched her shoulder. "Elissa, what happened?"

She snapped back to reality, blinking against the harsh sunlight. She shook her head. "It's nothing." What could she say? That she didn't even know who she was? It sounded too pathetic.

She started walking toward the parking lot on autopilot. Frank followed, concerned. "Are you planning to stay in Cresthaven for a couple of days, or are you heading back to Vistapeak City today?"

Elissa had originally planned to stay, to visit the house where she had grown up with her parents. But now, she didn't know where to go. They weren't her parents. The house wasn't her home. Though she was still grateful to them for saving her, and still hated Paige for killing them, the truth was too much to process. She felt utterly adrift.

"Back to Vistapeak City," she said numbly. "Right now."

By the time they reached the car, Frank knew he couldn't let her drive in this state. "Let me drive you back," he offered.

"Are you done with your business trip?" Elissa asked, surprised.

"... Yes. I was just about to head back anyway," he lied, afraid she would refuse. He held out his hand for the keys.

Even in her emotional turmoil, Elissa had enough sense to know she was in no condition to drive. She handed him the keys. "Okay."

As they drove through the city, Frank passed a bakery. He knew she probably had no appetite, but he pulled over anyway.

"Even if the world is ending, you can't go hungry right now. I'll get you a sandwich. You can eat it on the way if you get hungry."

His words seemed to break through

her haze. A flicker of life returned to her eyes. "Get me a yogurt too, please." She still had the baby

Everything may have been

stripped away, but the baby inside her was hers.

Frank smiled, relieved. "Of course."

He closed her door and walked

toward the bakery. Just as he a deafening crash shattered the air. He spun around his heart seizing in his chest. A black SUV, driving on the wrong side of the road, had slammed into the side of the car The frame was buckled, the front end crumpled.

reached the entrance,

He had left her window cracked open for air Now, through the shattered glass, he could see the a trickle of

deployed airbag and

blood running down Elissa's temple.

Against her pale skin, the red was a terrifying slash of color.

Frank's heart felt like it had been squeezed in a vise. He forgot how to breathe.

He sprinted back to the car.

"Elissa! Elissa!"

He tore open the door and saw her slumped unconscious in the seat. His limbs went numb. He was afraid to touch her, a primal fear gripping him.

He was terrified.

***