Wendy let out a softugh.


    "I thought you''d find me sooner. You''re so smart and so capable. What took you


    so long?"


    "Cut the crap. Tell me where Snuggle is now."


    As soon as she got the answer she needed, Serena pushed open the door and rushed out.


    A fine mist of rain blew against her face, dampening the edges of her clothes and her eyes. She hurried toward the direction of Crestview Bay.


    "If you hurt him, I swear I''ll ruin you!"


    "You? Ruin me?" Wendy burst into hystericalughter, her tone nearly deranged.


    "If you could''ve done it, you would''ve already! You have nothing on me, but I''ve got your weakness in my hands! Funny, isn''t it? Just a cat, and it''s got you threatening me like that.


    "If you really care so much about that little furball, then go ahead and destroy the hand you y violin with. If not, I''ll crush this thing right now."


    If Serena hadn''t made a name for herself in Javerton City''s ssical music circles, Wendy would''ve never been eliminated in the very first round of thatpetition.


    And if Serena hadn''t once performed for Zach, Zach never would''ve turned to that scammer, Kade. Kade almost seeded in getting her ws into him.


    The only way topletely erase Zach''s love and memory of Serena was to ruin that hand of hers. With Serena out of the picture, Wendy could finally shine in the city''s violin scene.


    And when that day came, even if the Fosters still favored Serena, she''d be nothing more than a disabled girl with a ruined hand. She was no longer someone they could bring to the public eye. Wendy could rightfully stand by Zach''s side.


    As that thought crossed her mind, she snapped a photo of herself holding Snuggle and sent it to Serena.


    "You''ve got ten minutes to think this through. I''m near Crestview Bay. I want to see an ambnce pull up. However you want to do it is up to you."


    Serena slowed down.


    Anyone could see it wasn''t a fair deal to give up her hand over a cat.


    But as she listened to the dead tone on the other end of the line, she hesitated.


    This was the same girl she had brought back from the mountains, the one who had first stepped into her life, and slowly taken over.


    Wendy had stolen her future and her boyfriend of over ten years. And now, she was threatening to kill the cat Serena had rescued and raised.


    It was like she hadn''t saved a person back then. She had brought back a knife that sliced her life open, out through her dreams, and left nothing but raw truth in its ce.


    It showed her that the struggles she''d shared with Zach could easily be handed to someone else. Their love over a decade couldn''t stop a man from changing his heart.


    Snuggle was the only one who hadn''t done anything wrong. He was just a kitten. He didn''t deserve to die because of her.


    For half a minute, her thoughts spun in chaos. Serena tightened her grip on the phone and made a call.


    "I need an ambnce now."


    Less than ten minutester, the sound of sirens echoed through Crestview Bay.


    Wendy stood alone in an empty fire escape, watching the paramedics jump out of the ambnce and head straight for the top floor. She curled her lips and brushed the


    scratch on her wrist, me he


    sneer.


    out a


    "Serena, yourpassion is your biggest weakness."


    Even after parting ways with Zach,


    Serena had never once tried to


    expose the Zarena Group''s secrets.


    Even with the deep rift between


    them, she still hadn''t told Zach


    everything Wendy had done.


    Wendy stepped out from the shadows of the stairwell. She tugged her sleeve down to hide the scratch on her wrist.


    When she was just about to leave the building, she saw Hugh standing at the entrance. Why was he here now?