The phone woke me up. It wouldn't stop ringing.

I shook the fog from my head, expecting Camille to lay into me the second I picked up. But the first thing out of her mouth caught me off guard.

"I think I grabbed you a little too hard today. Are you okay? If you're hurting, go see a doctor. Don't just tough it out to prove a point."

Tough it out to prove a point? I actually laughed.

I didn't want to say another word to her, so I hung up. After throwing on some clothes, I headed to the hospital. I hadn't even reached Mom's room before I heard her sobbing in the hallway, desperate and helpless.

"You're lying. My son would never do something like that." She broke into a coughing fit. "You're lying!"

Every alarm in my head went off at once. I shoved through the crowd and burst through the door. Mom was on the floor, blood trickling from the corner of her mouth.

"Mom!"

I nearly lost my mind. I dropped to my knees and pulled her up as carefully as I could.

She looked up at me through her tears, clutching my arm, her voice frantic. "Miles, this young man said you stole his watch. Tell me the truth. You didn't take it, did you?"

Mom had lived her entire life with her integrity intact. After the divorce, she raised me on her own, and every cent she ever earned was honest money. Hearing her only son accused of being a thief was tearing her apart.

I turned to look at the one responsible. Bryce was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed, a mocking little smirk hanging on his lips.

"If you know what's good for you, you'll stop chasing after Camille. Take your mother and get as far away from us as you can. Otherwise, I'll make sure neither of you has a moment's peace."

He scoffed, turned, and started walking out. Something snapped in my head then. I looked down at the blood on my hands.

He had destroyed my career and come after my mother. The next second, I tackled him to the ground.

My hands locked around his throat, and I squeezed, slowly and deliberately.

Bryce's face turned a deep, ugly red. His fingers clawed at me, wild and useless.

Then a force wrenched me sideways. Camille was standing over me, white-faced and shaking, gripping my wrists so tight her own hands trembled.

"Have you lost your mind? You almost killed him!"

Mom had collapsed on the floor behind us, unconscious, and I had no idea if she was even alive.

However, Camille didn't care about that. All she cared about was making sure I couldn't touch her precious little boyfriend, pinning me down and refusing to let go.

The tears finally broke through. I screamed until my voice cracked. "Then let him die!"

The slap came so hard and so fast that I crumpled sideways to the floor. Camille stared at her own hand like she couldn't believe what she had just done. She stumbled toward me, her words tripping over each other.

"I'm sorry, Miles, I'm sorry. I was just so angry, I didn't mean to—"

I shoved her away before she could finish. She stumbled backward and hit the ground hard, staring up at me with a blank, stunned expression.

"You actually pushed me? I—"

Before she could finish, blood pooled beneath her on the floor.