Chapter 5

I didn't expect the ride to be a nightmare.

The driver was driving erratically, slamming on the horn and speeding down the road.

He was gritting his teeth, muttering and ranting about how his wife had cheated on him.

Realizing something was terribly wrong, I grabbed my phone and spammed Wallace on Snapchat.

[Wallace, my driver is acting crazy. Call the police for me.]

[He’s mentally unstable. I’m in danger.]

[Please, see this message and call the police!]

We were about a mile away from the bakery when the driver suddenly turned to me, his eyes bloodshot.

“I heard this bakery is great. Do you like cake too?”

My heart was in my throat. I tried to keep my voice steady.

“I’m just picking it up for someone else. I’ve never had it.”

Just then, my phone rang. It was Wallace.

Under the driver’s suspicious gaze, I trembling clicked accept.

But it wasn't Wallace’s voice. It was Juliet’s mocking tone.

“Alice, stop spamming Wallace to get his attention.”

“He’s busy using the fabric from your mother’s dress to design a new piece for me.”

“And what’s with this fake emergency? Do you really think Wallace has time for your drama right now?”

“Why don’t you just go die and see if he actually cares?”

My back was soaked in cold sweat.

Before I could scream for help, Juliet hung up the phone.

The driver glanced at me through the rearview mirror, his expression turning cold and sinister.

“I was going to give you a chance because you looked so pretty going to get cake.”

“But it turns out you’re just like me. Unloved. Pathetic.”

“Why don’t we just die together?”

With a wild laugh, he yanked the steering wheel, crashing the car straight through the bridge railing.

“No!”

I reached forward to stop him, but it was too late.

The car plummeted off the bridge, crashing into the freezing river below.

The violent impact shattered my bones, and my body went numb.

Before I lost consciousness, all I could feel was the biting cold of the water.

Meanwhile, back at the studio, Wallace’s assistant rushed into his office.

“Wallace, we have a massive problem.”

“The James Group—our biggest investor—just pulled all their funding. We don't have enough capital to launch the new collection!”

Wallace rubbed his temples, frustrated.

“Alice was the one who secured that investment. I’ll call her and see what’s going on.”

But before he could dial, a breaking news alert popped up on his laptop screen.

[Local Tragedy: A taxi driver went on a suicidal rampage today. The driver died on impact, but a female passenger was pulled from the river with severe injuries. She is currently in critical condition at General Hospital.]

A sudden wave of dread washed over Wallace. He opened Snapchat.

The moment he saw the chat history, his blood ran cold.

The screen was filled with desperate SOS messages from Alice.

Juliet came up behind him, whining.

“Wallace, Alice was just playing a prank earlier, pretending she was in danger. I already called and chewed her out.”

“Just ignore her. Hey, do you think Alice has any other vintage dresses I could borrow? Like that silk one...”

Wallace turned on her, his face pale with fury.

“Shut the hell up!” he roared. “All you care about is stealing her things!”

“Do you realize you might have just killed her?!”

He grabbed his car keys and drove like a maniac to the hospital.

When he burst through the door of the ICU wing, he froze.

Standing outside my room was a man he never expected to see.

Wallace stuttered, “M-Mr. James? What are you doing here?”