Morning came too quietly.
Marcus didn’t knock.
He rang once.
Twice.
Then again.
Nothing.
Ryan tried her phone.
Straight to silence.
Marcus stepped back, jaw tight. “Something’s wrong.”
Ryan nodded once.
The house looked the same.
But it didn’t feel the same.
They went in.
“Nia?” Marcus called.
No answer.
No movement.
No sound.
Ryan frowned. “Check upstairs.”
They moved fast.
Her door was closed.
Locked.
Marcus knocked hard. “Nia!”
Nothing.
Ryan tried the handle.
Didn’t budge.
They exchanged a look.
Then—
Marcus stepped back.
“Move.”
One hit.
The door held.
Second hit—
It broke.
They rushed in.
And stopped.
Nia lay on the floor.
Still.
Too still.
The room was a mess—empty bottles, scattered things, the air heavy and wrong.
But none of that mattered.
“
