Prologue
GIA
She almost ignored the call.
When her phone rang earlier, she’d known it was ch? hai. Her older sister—Minh Tam to the family, but just Minh or Minnie to everyone else—had long ago assigned an old song by their favorite boy band to her contact. Gia had kept the same ringtone through every phone upgrade, despite changing phones more times than she’d changed outfits. What once had been a sweet reminder of home lately only stirred dread in her chest. Now, their crooning voices became a harbinger of shame. A jarring reminder of all of her failures.
“Come home, Gia Huy.”
She wished she hadn’t answered. Tears welled in Gia’s eyes as Minh’s words echoed in her mind. The thought of coming home after so long made her break out in a cold sweat. The girl who left her small mountain town was so different from the person she is today. And not necessarily for the better. What if she went back and was even more like a stranger in her hometown?
God, it would be the icing on this shit-filled cake.
Guilt gnawed at her insides like acid, leaving her raw and hollow. Her life already teetered on the edge of too much. Even if people welcomed her back with open arms, she would have to putin some time at the family restaurant. She didn’t want to add family responsibilities on top of her festering wounds and the weight of public scrutiny. It was all so incredibly suffocating sometimes.
Dark thoughts loomed beneath the surface, like ghostly hands reaching to pull her into the depths of the unknown, threatening to drown her. Still, she managed to tread water. Somehow, she’d kept her nose inches above the surface. Barely—only enough to survive. To exist. One day at a time. Each breath she took was a small act of defiance.
Just one hit. You’ll feel so much better after.
Snapping free of the poisonous whisper in her head, Gia let her phone fall onto the unmade bed. She needed to move before her mind dragged her somewhere she couldn’t return from. Taking unsteady steps toward the bathroom, each movement felt stiff and uncoordinated, like she was walking through mud. The cold floor bit at her bare feet, but it was nothing compared to the chill that settled deep in her bones. It took far too much effort to cross the distance to the adjoining bathroom.
Deliberately slow, she finally crossed over the threshold. The motion triggered the harsh and unkind lights to flicker on. She squinted, raising her arms in a half-hearted attempt to shield herself from the inevitable.
Lurching for the sink, she kept her gaze low, unwilling to meet her reflection. She didn’t want to see herself like this.
She thought she’d hit rock bottom before—this was deeper.
What’s below rock bottom? The grave?
At the rate she was going, it could be her next destination. After her failed meeting with Preston Blackwell. The memory of the day’s events pulled Gia back, as if she had summoned his evil spirit.
“You’re going to regret this, you dumb bitch.”
Large hands tight around her throat. Couldn’t breathe. His eyes, dark and enraged. So angry. So evil.
Shaking her head free of the memory, Gia turned on thefaucet, letting the water warm up as she grabbed an emerald-green towel. Her favorite color. Her hands trembled as she soaked it, then lifted it slowly to her face. Her head rose as though pulled by puppet strings. She finally dared to look at her reflection in the ornate gold-framed mirror. A gasp escaped her at the woman staring back. Her eyes roamed over her battered face.
The dark-haired woman staring back at her wasn’t someone she recognized.
No, not a woman.
Something else.
A ghost.
No, something more terrifying.
A ghoul.
Yes, that was more like it.
Finally, the outside matches the inside, a caustic voice chimed in as her cold hands gripped the sink tightly.
Shocked didn’t begin to describe the sight in front of her. It was hardly anyone she recognized. It seemed more plausible a stranger had hijacked her body, and she was only along for the ride.
Tentatively, she wiped at the corners of her lips, cleaning the dried blood. The effort made her wince. She suppressed a cry when fresh blood oozed from her split lip, frustrated with the mess he’d left behind.
What she’d allowed to happen.
