And for the first time since all of this began…
I felt truly hunted.
The message was carved into my mind like blood on glass. The black paint of those words still dripped down the hotel’s outside wall, seeping into the cracks like venom. Whoever had written it knew exactly what it meant. And they knew I would see it.
The weight of it slammed into my chest, cold and merciless.
“Alessia,” Dimitri’s voice came from behind me, calm but edged with warning. He stepped closer, his hand sliding to the small of my back protectively. “Get away from the window.”
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move.
“Now,” he ordered.
I backed away, breath catching. The heavy velvet curtains fell shut behind me with a whisper, but the words had already done their damage. My hands trembled, uselessly trying to grip
