The Town I Left
You came home to bury your father, but the billionaire who owns the town wants to bury your past.
After years away, you return to the rust-belt town you fled to settle your father's estate—and find the whole place under the iron grip of the brother of the man you left at the altar. He's offering a deal that could save the town's future, but every negotiation reopens old wounds and forces you to confront the love you thought you'd buried. With the town's fate hanging in the balance, you'll have to decide what you're willing to sacrifice for a second chance—and whether some debts are worth paying.
The story begins
The rain came down in sheets, turning the gravel of the cemetery path to mud that sucked at your heels. You hadn't brought an umbrella—you never did, even when you knew better. The black dress you'd bought at a highway department store two towns over was already soaked through at the shoulders, clinging cold to your skin.
The grave diggers had gone. The priest had gone. Only you remained, staring at the raw earth and the bouquet of white lilies that had toppled sideways in the wind, petals bruising against the clay.
Behind you, the crunch of tires on gravel. A car engine idled, low and patient. You didn't turn. You knew that sound—the purr of a car that cost more than every house on your father's street combined.
"You're getting soaked."
You closed your eyes. That voice. Three years, and it still cut through you like a blade.
Silas Thorne stood by his black sedan, rain slicking his dark hair, a black umbrella held loosely at his side. He made no move to approach. His eyes were fixed on you, unreadable.
"I came to pay my respects," he said. "To your father."
What happens next is up to you.
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