Alice's knuckles were white on the steering wheel as she pulled up to the apartment building. Her pulse hadn't calmed since that photo. Paula's battered face kept flashing in her mind, red and swollen, that streak of blood at her mouth. A lump clawed up Alice's throat. Anger, fear, guilt, all choking her at once.
She braked too hard at the entrance, the tires squealing. A man in a suit passing by gave her a glare but Alice barely registered him. She shoved the car door open and stormed across the paved walkway, sneakers pounding against polished stone.
The building was everything she expected of Priscilla. Gleaming glass walls, gold fixtures, floral arrangements that were too perfect, too staged. Alice shoved through the entrance doors, ignoring the faint music wafting from hidden speakers. Her mind was set on one thing: Paula.
