Saint Jude Café stood quietly across the hospital avenue beneath dim midnight rain.
The establishment looked ordinary from outside—warm amber lights glowing through wide glass windows, wooden signage slightly flickering from the drizzle, soft jazz music faintly leaking through the entrance each time customers stepped out.
But tonight, everything about the place felt wrong.
Dangerously wrong.
Jayda stood motionless beneath the building awning across the street while cold rainwater continuously dripped from the edge above her shoulders.
She wore an oversized gray hoodie over black fitted jeans, the sleeves slightly covering her trembling hands as she hugged herself tightly against the cold. Her damp hair rested messily over her shoulders after the wind outside ruined whatever composure
