Some time passed. The commotion in the guest room finally faded and fell quiet.
She heard Steven's heavy footsteps heading toward the living room, and it seemed that Stella had also gone back to her room.
The night was thick as ink. In the silence, the ticking of the wall clock sounded unusually clear.
Suddenly, the bedroom door was pushed open gently, then closed again just as softly.
In the darkness, a slender figure stood at the doorway, breathing with an almost imperceptible tremor.
"Claire," Freya called in a soft voice.
Claire slowly opened her eyes. "What do you want?"
Freya took two slow steps forward. Moonlight filtered through the gap in the curtains and fell across her face, revealing the red rims around her eyes. "I can help you get out of here."
Claire's eyes flickered
