At 27, Clara Torres is one of the top prosecutors in the DA's office. She is beautiful, brilliant, and unstoppable in the courtroom. But beneath the sharp suits and flawless arguments lies a past too heavy to carry.

Years ago, she made one reckless choice. One unforgettable night with her high school rival, the dangerously charming Ethan Ashford, and nothing has ever been the same. She has tried to bury the memory and it's consequences, but some secrets refuse to stay hidden. 

Now Ethan is back, determined to claim her heart no matter the cost. But Clara's walls are high, and the shadows of their shared past are too dark. 

Will he break her walls, or will the secrets she guards destroy them both?

As she exited the hotel, Clara checked the time, it was 8.a.m. Her phone was now vibrating nonestop, and she had several missed calls from her best friend Riley, and her sister Sofia. She unlocked the screen and read the long strings of texts, all asking if she was alive and not in a ditch somewhere.


She quickly typed the same reply to both:


Barely a second later, her phone lit up again. Sofia was calling. Clara sighed, bracing herself, and answered.


"Are you really OK?" Sofia's voice came through loud and skeptical. "I mean, 


Clara pinched the bridge of her nose. "I… I'm ok Sofia."


Sofia laughed in disbelief. "He was hot, I'll give you that. But since when is that your style?"


Clara leaned against the counter. "It's not. I don't know what came over me." She hesitated, her voice dropping to a whisper. "Maybe… maybe I was drugged?"


There was a pause on the other end. "Do you think he..?"


"I don't know, Sof. I just… I suddenly didn't feel like myself. Everything was blurry."


Sofia sighed. "We drove your car home, by the way. It's in your driveway."


"Thanks," Clara said softly. "I owe you guys."


"You owe us answers, that's what," Sofia replied, half-joking, half-serious. "Rest today, OK? And stay off strangers in bars."


Clara let out a short laugh. "Lesson learned."


They hung up as the uber arrived at her apartment. At her door, Clara couldn't wait to step out of her shoes.. The house was quiet, the kind of quiet that felt almost heavy. She glanced at the clock, 8.20 a.m Saturday morning. Two more days until the jury deliberation. Monday would bring the verdict, one way or another.


But first, she needed to shake off the lingering fog of last night.


The sharp vibrating of her phone woke Clara from her nap. She groaned, pulling the pillow over her head, but the sound didn't stop. Whoever it was, was relentless.


She fumbled for the phone, blinking at the screen. Three missed calls from her boss at the DA's office. Four from Riley. Two from Sofia. 


Chapter 3 - Maybe I was Drugged