The moment Elizabeth’s words reached me—she’s not breathing—everything else faded.
I didn’t say goodbye. I didn’t explain anything to Delilah.
I ran.
The street blurred beneath my feet as I pushed forward, faster than I had any right to move in a normal situation. My lungs burned, but I didn’t slow down. I couldn’t.
Fragments of memory began clawing their way back into my mind.
The first time Eleanor nearly died.
The same panic.
The same helpless look in Vinie’s eyes.
And that bottle…
The one he had shown me back then.
Small. Unassuming. Easy to overlook.
Just like the one I had in my pocket now.
That wasn’t coincidence.
It couldn’t be.
---
By the time I reached the house, the front door was wide open.
Not just unlocked—open.
Like someone had rushed in without thinking… or
