The mansion felt like a grave.
Althea stood in the middle of the vast hall, her breath uneven, her heart pounding as if it were trying to break free from her chest. The silence was unnatural, too clean, too deliberate. No footsteps. No voices. No guards.
Only emptiness.
“Dante…” she whispered.
Her voice echoed back at her, weak and lonely.
She ran through the corridors, her footsteps hurried, her mind spiraling with fear and questions. Every door she opened led to the same answer: nothing.
He was gone.
Her phone vibrated in her hand, the screen still dark from the call that had ended seconds ago. Adrian’s voice echoed in her memory.
Are you ready to become the reason he falls?
Her fingers trembled.
She did not know whether to be afraid of Adrian or of herself.
Hours later, the m
