SOFIA
The change didn’t come with a warning. It never did in this world. One moment, the house was holding itself together the way it always did and the next, something jagged and violent broke through the veneer.
It started with a sound. It wasn't the loud, explosive roar of a movie scene, but a sharp, wrong crack echoing somewhere beyond the reinforced walls. It was close enough to register as a threat but distant enough to be elusive. I froze, my heart hammering against my ribs as the smooth, practiced silence of the mansion was replaced by urgent, unfiltered movement. Voices in the hallway were low and quick, real panic, or perhaps just real urgency, bled through the gaps. Something had finally gotten through the perimeter.
I stepped out of my room, and for the first time, no one st
