Chapter Sixty Nine
Vanessa’s POV
The silence of my apartment was deafening, broken only by the frantic, uneven sound of my own breathing. I remained on the hardwood floor, my knees tucked tightly against my chest, staring unblinkingly at the heavy wooden chair wedged beneath the front doorknob. The black gift box sat on the kitchen counter like a ticking bomb. Every creak of the building, every whistle of the wind against the windowpanes, made me flinch. The cold, dismissive words of Officer Miller looped endlessly in my mind. Just a guy with a little crush. Solve your own personal problem.
I felt entirely helpless, stripped of the illusion that the law could keep me safe. I was trapped in a nightmare, and the walls were closing in.
Suddenly, a sharp, heavy knock boomed against the f
