Aruna woke to silence, but the weight in her chest had not lifted.
Dante had already left the room when she opened her eyes. A faint light streamed through the blinds, casting long shadows across the floor. She noticed a folder on the table, marked in Dante’s precise handwriting: “Read. Understand. Survive.”
Her hands trembled as she opened it. Inside were documents, hospital records, and notes written in code she didn’t understand. But one thing was clear: her mother’s surgery was no accident.
“They lied,” she whispered.
Dante stepped back into the room without knocking, his expression unreadable. “You found it.”
“I… what is this?” she asked, voice shaking. “Why would they…? My mother… she didn’t deserve this.”
Dante moved closer. His eyes, dark as midnight, never left hers. “No one
