The knock on the door sent a jolt through Serena, her heart pounding wildly in her chest. She nearly leaped out of her skin as her eyes fixed on the door, her breath caught in her throat. She quickly and quietly checked the lock before walking away from the door slowly.
"Serena? Are you awake? Open the door." His voice filtered through the door, and she shook her head in a silent, instinctive response. No, no! She couldn't let him know she was awake—not after what she had just overheard.
The plan, his plan—it was all too much to process. He was really planning to use her, to manipulate her in some calculated move to get rid of grandma. The realization left her in a state of quiet disbelief. How could she have misread him so completely? Could it be true?
