Dahlia's POV
Lorena's words left me sitting in stunned silence, a cold chill creeping down my spine.
Her warning echoed in my mind as I tried to piece everything together. If Madge had truly orchestrated such an elaborate scheme to force me into submission, then the accident in the outskirts couldn't possibly be her handiwork.
But Diane's tragedy had Madge's fingerprints all over it.
"Dahlia, you have to promise me you won't do anything reckless."
Lorena's grip on my hand tightened, her expression more serious than I had ever seen it.
In that moment, I realized my best friend had transformed from the hotheaded, impulsive girl I remembered into someone far more cautious and calculating.
She wasn't just worried about me getting hurt. She was terrified of losing me entirely.
"I promise."
Relief washed over Lorena's face when I nodded. "It's getting late. Don't you need to pick up your mother from the hospital today?"
