The car pulled away before she could change her mind.
Aria stood frozen on the sidewalk, hugging her arms around her stomach, staring up at the building like it might suddenly vanish. There was no sign. No music leaking from within. Just a single, antique lantern casting a soft, golden light over the heavy black door. It looked like it belonged to another world—quiet, discreet, intimidating.
Her phone buzzed in her clutch.
“Do not knock. Do not speak. Just enter.”
She swallowed hard, her throat too dry, her heart punching her chest like it was trying to escape. Her heels clicked once as she took a single, hesitant step forward. The city behind her felt distant now—muted and irrelevant. She reached for the door—
It opened. Silently. On its own.
For a second, she didn’t move. Just stoo
