CHAPTER 21: THE CALM AFTER CHAOS
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Arianna did not wake all at once. It came slowly, like her body was returning from somewhere far away, somewhere heavy. Her fingers moved first, barely noticeable against the soft fabric beneath them. Then her breathing shifted, deeper this time, more aware.
Her lashes fluttered as light slipped in. For a moment, she didn’t understand where she was.
The ceiling above her was unfamiliar—too high, too clean, too… perfect. The air felt different too. Quiet in a way that didn’t belong to her apartment. Even the bed beneath her felt unfamiliar.
Her brows pulled together slightly as her mind tried to catch up with her body, then it hit her, the hallway, the shadow, the hand over her mouth, the voice and the gun.
Her breath caught sharply in her throat
