Chapter 1

Memorial Day weekend traffic on the highway was an absolute nightmare.

I was driving my Uber to make some extra cash when I picked up a ride.

The passengers turned out to be my ex-boyfriend, Logan, and his "dream girl," Hailey.

He had his arm around her, laughing at how far I’d fallen, mocking me for driving people around for pennies.

"Regretting breaking up with me now, aren't you?"

Hailey complained that my car smelled like sweat.

She demanded I blast the AC to the maximum and forced me to get out and grab them some iced boba teas.

I accidentally spilled a few drops.

Logan backhanded me across the face, then threatened to report me and get my Uber account deactivated.

I stared at the massive suitcase in my trunk.

When they loaded it earlier, I noticed it was leaking.

With a cold laugh, I drove straight into the State Trooper station.

"Officer, I suspect there are illegal drugs in this car."

"Are you fucking crazy, Chloe?"

Logan leaned forward from the backseat, grabbing the back of my headrest. His voice was low, hissed through clenched teeth.

Hailey sat beside him, unbothered. She pulled out her phone, tossed her hair back for the front-facing camera, and went live.

She opened Instagram.

I saw her screen through the rearview mirror. Her live stream was titled "Hailey's Daily Life," with about a hundred viewers. She pouted and smiled at the camera.

"Hey guys, you won't believe this. The Uber driver we got is actually Logan’s crazy ex. Now she's literally driving us into a police station. It's so hilarious."

The chat was blowing up.

Logan didn't notice she was streaming. He pushed his door open, stormed over to my side, and yanked the driver-side door open.

"Get out. Move the car now."

"No."

"Chloe, think carefully about what you're doing."

"I have."

He grabbed my wrist and tried to pull me out, his fingers digging deep into my skin. I remembered this grip. Two years ago, when he pinned me against the wall, it was the exact same pressure.

I shook him off and walked toward the entrance of the station.

He rushed ahead and blocked my path, his face suddenly switching to a gentle expression.

The gentle, manipulative Logan.

"Chloe."

A name he hadn't called me in two years. On the day we broke up, he told me, *“Women like you will never amount to anything.”*

"Look, I'm sorry about the slap. I lost my temper." He reached out to touch my face.

I took a step back.

His hand froze in mid-air. He pulled it back, embarrassed.

Then, he pulled out his phone and opened PayPal.

"Fine. Fifty bucks? No, a hundred. Just name your price."

The glass doors of the station pushed open.

A middle-aged officer stepped out, a clipboard tucked under his arm.

"Who called?"

"I did," I said, stepping forward. "Officer, I'm an Uber driver. My passengers have a large suitcase in the trunk that's constantly leaking some weird fluid. I noticed it when they got in, and I suspect they are transporting illegal contraband."

The officer looked at the red mark on my cheek, then at Logan.

Logan immediately flashed a polite, charming smile.

"Officer, this is all a huge misunderstanding. She's my ex-girlfriend. She saw me with my new girlfriend on the road and got hysterical. The suitcase just has some frozen Maine lobsters my parents sent us. The ice melted, that's all."

The officer frowned.

"You two know each other?"

"We used to date," Logan said, nodding with just the right amount of helpless pity in his voice. "We broke up two years ago."

The officer's gaze shifted back to me, his eyes filled with skepticism.

"Is that true?"

Hailey stepped out of the car at the perfect moment. She ended her Instagram Live, walked over on her high heels, and wrapped her arm around Logan's.

"Officer, this woman was staring at us through the rearview mirror the entire ride. My boyfriend just told her to focus on the road, and she threw a tantrum and drove us here."

Her voice was sweet and timid. It was a complete contrast to the demanding bitch who complained about my "sweat smell" in the car.

The officer glanced at the three of us and jerked his chin toward the door.

"All of you, step inside."

As Logan brushed past me, his voice dropped to a whisper only I could hear.

"Chloe, you better pray you're right. Because if you're not, I'll make sure you never touch a steering wheel in this city again."