The phone hit the floor with a hollow clatter. Thalia sat there, staring at nothing, her breath ragged. The masked men didn’t move. They didn’t have to. The real threat wasn’t them. It was Catherina—and she was everywhere, even when she wasn’t.
Her heart raced, not from fear anymore, but fury. Fury at how easily Catherina controlled everything, even from a distance.
One of the men nudged her with his boot. “Well?”
Thalia swallowed hard, her mind racing. What choice did she have? Her parents didn’t even know they were in danger. They were just… living their lives, oblivious to the shadow hanging over them.
She didn’t have the luxury of pride.
“I’ll take the money,” Thalia whispered, her voice flat, dead.
The man pulled out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, then handed it back
