Sonia’s POV
The house was too quiet.
That kind of quiet that didn’t feel empty, it felt aware. Listening. Watching.
I walked out of Alexander’s study and into the dim corridor, my pulse still wild, my breath uneven. The pendant was still in my hand. I didn’t even realize I’d taken it with me until I felt the cold metal pressing against my palm, the engraved name, HAYLEY, biting into my skin like a mark I couldn’t erase.
My footsteps echoed faintly against the marble as I moved. Each sound made the silence stretch thinner. The lights along the hallway flickered softly, warm pools of gold breaking up the darkness, but everything felt wrong. Off. Unsteady.
I didn’t know where I was going at first. I only knew I couldn’t stay.
Not with him standing there in that doorway, eyes full of gui
