Rose lay awake in bed, staring at the ceiling.
The soft hum of the city filtered through the windows, distant car horns and sirens blending into a hollow, restless silence. The mansion was dark and still, but inside her head, chaos reigned.
Her body was exhausted, but her mind wouldn’t shut off.
The messages wouldn’t stop replaying.
“You thought you could escape your past? You were wrong.”
“You’ll see me soon.”
She squeezed her eyes shut, but it only made the words louder.
It had been years since she last thought about him, years since she had let herself believe he was gone.
Every time she closed her eyes, the past clawed its way back in.
The sour scent of alcohol on his breath.
The frantic, desperate look in his eyes when he was out of money.
The way he had vanished without a
