Hermione's POV
Rain hit my face like tiny needles.
I didn't know when it started raining. Didn't know how long I'd been walking. My feet just moved, one in front of the other, going nowhere.
James had tried to follow me after we left the house. But I ran. I couldn't stand the pity in his eyes. Couldn't stand anyone looking at me like I was broken.
Even if I was.
My phone was dead. My pockets were empty except for the letters Linda gave me. Everything else was in that storage unit I couldn't afford to keep.
Thunder rumbled overhead. The rain got heavier.
I spotted a bus stop bench and collapsed onto it. Water soaked through my clothes instantly, but I didn't care. Couldn't feel anything anymore.
A old newspaper blew against my leg. I picked it up, ready to throw it away, when I saw the headline.
KINGSTON FAMILY ANNOUNCES SURPRISE WEDDING
There was a photo. Jerry and Linda, smiling at the camera. The caption said: Love conquers all as Jerry Kingston prepares to marry terminally ill Linda Hale in touching ceremony.
Terminally ill. They were lying to everyone. The whole city thought Jerry was some kind of hero.
And I was the villain who got in the way.
I crumpled the newspaper and threw it as hard as I could. It landed in a puddle, the ink running like tears.
"Spare some change?"
A homeless woman shuffled toward me, pushing a shopping cart full of plastic bags. Her coat was torn and dirty.
"I don't have any money." My voice came out hollow. "I don't have anything."
She studied me for a moment, then sat down on the other end of the bench.
"You look worse than me, honey. And I haven't had a home in five years."
"Five years?" I looked at her really looked at her. "How do you survive?"
"You learn." She pulled out a sandwich wrapped in foil. "You learn who to trust. Who to avoid. You learn that rock bottom ain't the end. It's just the beginning of knowing what you're really made of."
She broke the sandwich in half and handed me a piece.
"I can't take your food."
"Take it." She pushed it into my hands. "You need it more than me right now."
I stared at the sandwich. When was the last time I ate? Yesterday morning? The day before?
I took a bite. It was the best thing I'd ever tasted.
"Thank you," I whispered.
"Don't thank me yet." The woman pointed down the street. "See that shelter? Three blocks that way. They serve dinner at six. Got beds too, if you're lucky."
A shelter. I was supposed to be getting married today. Now I was learning where to find shelter beds.
"How did you end up like this?" I asked.
The woman laughed, but it wasn't happy. "Same as most people. Trusted the wrong person. Lost everything. Thought about giving up." She looked at me sideways. "You thinking about giving up?"
Was I? An hour ago, I wanted to disappear. Wanted to stop existing.
But now, sitting here with this stranger who had nothing but still shared her food, something shifted inside me.
"No," I said slowly. "I'm thinking about getting revenge."
The woman grinned, showing missing teeth. "That's the spirit. Nothing like good old-fashioned payback to keep you warm at night." She stood up, grabbing her cart. "Good luck, honey. You're gonna need it."
She shuffled away, leaving me alone again.
The rain started to slow down. I pulled out my mother's letters, trying to protect them from getting wet.
The first envelope was addressed to Thomas Blackwood, James's father. I opened it carefully.
Dear Thomas,
They know. Rebecca found the papers. She's threatening to tell everyone about what happened that night. I don't know what to do.
Please, if anything happens to me, promise you'll protect Hermione. She's innocent in all of this. She deserves better than the mess we created.
The truth is hidden where we buried it. You know the place.
-M
My hands shook. What papers? What night? What truth?
I opened the second letter.
Thomas,
I'm scared. Rebecca isn't who I thought she was. She's been watching me. Following me. She knows about the will I made. The real one.
I've hidden it somewhere safe. Somewhere only Hermione will think to look when she's old enough to understand.
If I die, it wasn't an accident. Promise me you'll remember that.
-M
Tears mixed with rain on my face. My mother knew. She knew Rebecca was dangerous. She knew something bad was going to happen.
And she tried to warn someone.
I ripped open the third letter, the last one.
Thomas,
This is my final letter. I've made my choice. Tonight, I'm going to confront Rebecca about everything. About the money she stole. About the lies she told. About what she did to your wife.
If I don't survive, the proof is in the music box. The one I gave Hermione for her fifth birthday. The key to everything is hidden inside the ballerina's base.
Tell James I'm sorry I couldn't keep my promise to him. Tell him to find Hermione when the time is right. Tell him—
The letter ended there. Just stopped mid-sentence.
Like my mother's life stopped.
My music box. I'd had that box my whole life. It sat on my dresser, playing the same song every time I opened it.
But it was gone now. In storage with everything else I couldn't reach.
Or was it?
I jumped up from the bench, my heart racing. Linda took my room. She took my things. But would she keep a old music box? Or would she throw it away?
I had to get it back. Had to find whatever my mother hid inside.
My feet started moving before my brain caught up. I ran through the rain, back toward the house I'd been kicked out of.
The house was dark when I got there. Everyone must have left for the wedding already.
I circled around to the back, to the window that never locked right. The one I used to sneak out of when I was younger.
It opened easily.
I climbed inside, dripping water all over the floor. Everything was quiet. Too quiet.
My old room was upstairs. I crept up carefully, avoiding the steps that creaked.
The door was open. Linda's things were everywhere. But there, on the windowsill, sat my music box.
I grabbed it, clutching it to my chest. Found you.
Footsteps sounded downstairs.
Someone was home.
I froze, holding my breath.
"I know you're here, Hermione." Rebecca's voice floated up the stairs. "I've been waiting for you to come back."
The lights flicked on.
Rebecca stood at the bottom of the stairs, holding a phone. On the screen, I could see security camera footage. Of me climbing through the window.
"Breaking and entering." Rebecca smiled. "That's a crime. I've already called the police. They'll be here in five minutes."
"You can't do this!"
"I just did." Rebecca started climbing the stairs slowly. "You should have stayed away. Should have accepted your place. But you always were too stubborn. Just like your mother."
She reached the top step, blocking my only exit.
"And look where that stubbornness got her."
Behind me, I heard another sound. The window I'd climbed through slammed shut.
A man stepped out of the shadows in Linda's room. No, not a man. Jerry's father. Senator Kingston.
"Hello, Hermione." His voice was cold as ice. "We need to have a talk about those letters you're holding."