~ Ophelia’s POV ~
For three days the house didn’t sleep.
It breathed, it watched, it waited.
Guards moved like ghosts through the halls. Every door clicked twice when it shut. Ryker’s orders, no one in, no one out.
I should’ve felt safer. Instead, every whisper sounded like a threat.
The air itself felt hunted.
On the third night, thunder rolled across the sky. I stood by the window, watching the rain draw pale lines on the glass, trying not to think about Oswald, or Ryker, or the way both men owned pieces of my fear.
The storm outside almost matched the one in my chest.
The door opened behind me. I didn’t need to turn to know who it was.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Ryker’s voice was low.
“Does anyone in this house ever sleep?”
He came closer, his reflection merging with mine in the windo
