I didn’t sleep that night.
Even after we got back to the house.
Even after Max made sure security had been increased, after Elena reassured me—again—that everything was “contained.”
Nothing felt contained.
It felt like something was closing in.
Every small sound made me more aware of the silence between them. The kind of silence that wasn’t empty—it was waiting.
I sat on the edge of the bed, phone in my hand, staring at the last message again.
The photo.
Me.
Unaware.
Watched.
A slow, steady knock came at my door just after midnight.
I froze.
Then—
“Maya.”
Max.
I exhaled slowly and stood, crossing the room to open it.
He looked the same as earlier.
Cleaned up.
Controlled.
But I could see it now.
The tension underneath.
The part of him that didn’t switch off.
“Why aren
