Back From Prison, Built For Revenge - Chapter 2: Chapter 2

Chloe's gaze lingered on the face she once knew so well. For a heartbeat, time rewound three years. Carlos was just as she remembered, handsome, elegant, impossibly debonair. His presence hit her like a spotlight, dragging her out of the shadows and back into a world she barely recognized.
"Need a ride?" Carlos asked, voice smooth and deep as ever, though there was steel beneath the velvet.
Chloe didn't move, and her expression didn't flicker. Three years behind bars had burned her pride to ash.
"No, thanks," she said at last, her voice low, roughened by silence and time.
Carlos raised a brow. Then, with slow yet deliberate grace, he stepped out of the car. His presence pressed in like gravity. Standing over Chloe, he looked down at her, a faint, barely noticeable emotion flickering in his eyes.
"Are you sure?" he asked again, this time firmer. "Dawnridge is crawling with reporters. You'll be tomorrow's headline by breakfast."
Chloe met his stare, her own eyes as empty as a starless sky. "Mr. Lambert, I'm used to being a freak show." A ghost of a smile touched her lips, but it was cold enough to burn.
Carlos held her gaze before letting out a soft sigh. "Get in the car, Chloe. I'll take you to the Villa."
"I said no." Chloe replied. Then, she turned on her heel and started walking.
She'd only managed a few steps when his voice, now stripped of all warmth, sliced through the air. "Or would you prefer Hayden comes to get you himself?"
The words landed like a dart. Chloe froze in the wind. After a beat, she turned back, slow and stiff, as if the words hurt.
"Fine," she conceded, voice tight with fury she refused to show. "Since you insist."
Carlos smiled—slow, knowing, victorious. He opened the car door for her like a gentleman playing a game. Swallowing her pride, Chloe ducked inside, set the bag on her lap, and leaned back, squeezing her eyes shut.
The silence in the car was thick, broken only by the low hum of the engine. Though her eyes were closed, memories ambushed her.
Three years ago, when she was still a Stone's heiress, she and Carlos had been childhood sweethearts, wrapped up in countless sweet, happy moments. But now, those memories stabbed her like knives, reopening raw wounds in her heart.
"Are you alright?" Carlos's voice shattered the quiet. He glanced at her with a careful mixture of concern and scrutiny.
Chloe opened her eyes, meeting his before looking away. "Perfectly fine," she answered flatly. "Thanks for asking."
Carlos didn't push it, turning his attention back to the road. His hands held the steering wheel with effortless grace, but the tight set of his jaw gave away the storm brewing beneath his calm exterior.
The rest of the drive passed in silence. By the time the car pulled up to Stone Villa, dusk had fallen. The estate loomed ahead. With massive marble pillars and pristine gardens, every detail screamed wealth and power. To Chloe, however, it looked like a cage with better lighting.
The front door swung open as the car rolled to a stop. Phoebe Stone came sweeping out, her perfectly maintained face stretched into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Chloe, darling! You're finally back!" She rushed to the car, grabbing Chloe's hand. "These three years must have been dreadful for you... "
Chloe pulled away, gently but firmly. "Don't trouble yourself, Mrs. Stone."
For a second, Phoebe's smile twitched. Then it snapped back into place, practiced and brittle. "What are you talking about? Come inside, everyone is waiting."
Chloe said nothing, simply trailing her into the sprawling living room. The house was a palace, all gleam and gloss. And none of it felt real. To Chloe, it was a stage.
"Where is Yolanda?" Phoebe chirped, scanning the room.
As if summoned, a soft voice floated down from the grand staircase. "Mom, I'm here."
Yolanda came down from upstairs, looking ethereal in a long white dress, the very picture of innocence. But as her eyes landed on Chloe, a tremor of unease flickered
"Chloe... " she stopped before Chloe, her voice a careful blend of timidity and remorse. "I'm so sorry. For everything you went through."
Chloe met her gaze, then let her eyes slide away, offering only silence. Silence was sharper than any insult, and the practiced smile on Yolanda's face began to crack.
"Well, let's not just stand around!" Mrs. Stone jumped in, "Yolanda, why don't you help Chloe with her bag?"
"It's fine," Chloe stated coolly. "I've got it."
"Quite the reunion." Just then, a voice drawled from across the room, low and laced with ice.
All heads turned. Hayden stood at the top of the staircase from the other side, arms crossed. His features were flawless, but his face was clouded with an icy chill. Staring at Chloe, his eyes were filled with a storm of frustration.
"I wasn't aware we were running a halfway house," he added, descending with unhurried contempt.
The words detonated in the heavy silence. Every eye in the room darted to Chloe, waiting for the explosion. But Chloe didn't blink.
"Hayden!" Phoebe snapped. "What kind of thing is that to say? We're family!"
Hayden scoffed. "Mom, Chloe doesn't belong to our family anymore!"
With that, the air in the room turned electric, and the fault lines began to crack. But Chloe, the one at the very center of the firestorm, simply watched it all unfold, as if she were watching a play.
"That's enough," finally, Phoebe's furious voice broke the deadlock. "We will not dredge up the past!"
But for Chloe, that past wasn't something to be dredged up. It was a wound that would never heal, a part of her that could never be left behind. And this, she knew, was only the beginning.