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Prologue

Raven Bella Hawthorne watched the casket drop into the ground The rain caused the hole to look slippery, aler, she probably would’ve looked at the slope as a great adventure, letting out a big war-type chant while she hurled herself down over the edge as if it were a giant Slip ’N Slide She’d clirin, mud crusted on every part of her body, and her father would shake his head and try to scold her Meanwhile, his dark eyes would glint with laughter, and Raven would know she wasn’t really in trouble

But now, her father was in the hole She’d never see that sparkling huh, or listen to one of his lectures in that gravelly voice that re papa bear

Because her father was dead

Aunt Penny squeezed her hand, but Raven hardly felt it The cold chill of rainwater seeped into her skin and her soul, burrowing deep inside anda permanent home to rest The crew of men in black suits with bowed heads recited a prayer as the casket disappeared for good

People threw roses in the hole One weeping woman clutched her rosary The priest concluded the prayer service, telling Raven and everyone else not to grieve, because Matthew Albert Hawthorne was in heaven with the angels and was finally, mercifully at peace

Raven stared at the priest At the mishmash of distant relatives she barely knew and friends who see her father’s death than on her No, other than Aunt Penny, she was truly alone And she didn’t feel grateful, or happy, or humbled her father ith God

Instead, Raven was filled with rage

Her beloved father, who had been her entire world, was a liar and a cheat The ed her to church on Sundays and lectured her on saving her body for love and being kind to others and always believing she’d accohter to run aith another woer

If it hadn’t been for the red light, her father and that wo a new life away fro in the cold, da slap of betrayal For the first time, Raven knehat it was to hate

She hated her father She hated the woman who had stolen him away She hated the three sons the woman had left behind, sons who spread evil words about Matthew luring their innocentabout the bonds of family

Her father’s once spotless reputation now lay in tatters around her People gossiped and stared and whispered behind raised hands about the single father who’d ruined two fa the matriarch of Pierce Brothers Construction Somehow, some way, Diane Pierce had become a martyr Which made Matthethorne the only villain of the story

So Raven hated and burned for revenge while she stood in the rain, nodding at ishers She listened to Aunt Penny thank the endless line of people for offerings of food, prayers, and help in their effort to feel validated during soedy Finally Raven walked to the limousine and slid onto the smooth leather seat As they pulled away toward her new life, Raven had only one thought:

Payback was going to be a bitch

Chapter one