A pause. Too long.
“We can’t reach him.”
Of course you can’t.
If he’s alive, he’s compromised. If he’s dead, someone wanted me blind.
Either way, this ends now.
I grit my teeth so hard my jaw pops. “If he’s breathing, I want answers. If he’s not, I want names. No more mistakes. Track down who breached that building—facial match, gait analysis, anything.”
I don’t wait for confirmation.
My sister’s voice cuts through the panic in my head—an echo I can’t shake.“I think someone’s following me.”I shake it off. This isn’t then. Iwon’tbe too late this time.
I hit speed dial.
“Dorian,” I snap. “Car. Now.”
No more shadows. No more watching.
I’m already shoving weapons into the bag. Loading the Glock. Sliding a spare magazine into my jacket. My phone buzzes—Dorian confirming ETA.
I stride for the elevator.
She’s not running. Not now. Not with a target on her back and a psychopath wearing her face.
And if Violet goes dark—if something happens to her or Ella—I won’t survive that again. This time, I’ll get there in time.
Even if I have to burn the whole city to the ground to do it.
Chapter 26
The Girl Who Boarded a Plane, the One Who Didn’t
Violet
Something’s wrong. I know it before I open my eyes.
The air feels… off. Too still. Like it’s been holding its breath. There’s a sharpness to it, metallic and sour, clinging to the back of my throat.
I sit up slowly, the blanket slipping down my legs, and heart already pounding like it knows something I don’t yet. The apartment is quiet—no traffic, no pipes, and no neighbor noise. Just silence.
And the smell.
My brain supplies it before I can stop it. Blood or something trying very hard to smell like it.
Then I see the wall.
Eight words, written in thick, uneven strokes above the couch. The color is wrong—too dark, too wet, and too deliberate.
You killed my family. I will kill yours.
For a second, my body forgets how to function. I just stare. Like maybe if I don’t move, if I don’t breathe, it won’t be real.
It stays.
A sound tears out of me before I can swallow it back. I clamp a hand over my mouth, pulse roaring in my ears, suddenly certain someone is still here. Still listening.
