It came back to me. That night, after the bleeding started, the first call I'd made was to 911 for an ambulance. But every unit had already been dispatched, and they had to reroute one from another district.

The delay stretched on and on, so I'd called Paul instead.

But he hadn't believed me. So my only option was to call the police.

I gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry for worrying you."

Jasmine shot me a look. "Don't be ridiculous."

Then her face brightened. "Oh, I almost forgot. That transfer request you submitted? It went through. You got approved."

My heart leaped. "Really? When do I report?"

"No rush. The higher-ups know about your condition. They want you to recover for a month first."

Eight years. For eight years, I'd been stuck behind a desk doing administrative work. All I'd ever wanted was to be out in the field, hunting down fugitives, the way my parents had.

I'd submitted seven transfer requests. Every single one had been denied.

Because I didn't have the physical skills to hold my own. So over those eight years, I'd trained in every form of martial arts I could find, earned every certification available, all building toward one goal: avenging my parents.

"Jasmine, I need you to look into Eleanor Lambert's background for me."

The next time Paul appeared was three days later. His eyes were bloodshot.

"Jessica Pruitt, you vicious woman. If you hadn't cracked open the back of Ellie's skull, she never would have ended up paralyzed from the waist down."

I froze. Eleanor was paralyzed?

She'd been standing right in front of me the day I woke up, playing her sweet little act. Now she was paralyzed?

"Since I'm so vicious, let's just get a divorce."

I'd been racking my brain for a way to bring it up. Since he'd come to me first, I might as well settle everything at once.

Paul's gaze flickered, darting away for just a second. "You did this to Ellie, and you think you can just walk away? Not a chance."

We were past the point of no return. If this was going to end, it would end in flames.

"Then I'll see you in court. What I did was self-defense at most."

Paul clearly hadn't expected this. The woman who'd always done whatever he said was now pushing back. His jaw tightened.

"Jessica, what the hell has gotten into you? I already told you, she's just the daughter of a family friend. Her father asked me to look after her before he passed. What exactly are you so jealous about?"