My empty stomach heaves.
“That’s—” My voice won’t work properly. It’s broken, as though shattered glass is tearing my throat raw. “That dress is just like the one she sent me in the package.”
Valen’s hand tightens on my shoulder. “Are you sure?”
“Yes. It’s exactly the same as the one with a knife stabbed through it.” I point with a shaky finger. “She’s planning— She’s— She wants?—”
I can’t finish. Can’t say it out loud. But the implications hang in the air, heavy and horrible.
She plans to indoctrinate me back into the order. Here. In this place. Under her control.
Terra wants to fulfill the plan she had all those years ago, before I escaped, before Valen’s aunt took him away. Before we had a chance to grow up and choose for ourselves.
She’s here to finish what she started because she believes I’m her chosen one.
The pieces fall into place with sickening clarity. Terra didn’t just want me back—she wantedusback. Her two prized seedlings. Chosen in her name. When we ran, we ruined her grand design, and now she wants to force us into the roles she created.
Footsteps thunder up the stairs before Roman bursts into the room, his face draining of color as he takes in the space.
“What the fuck?” He steps inside, his gun in hand, though there’s no threat here now. Just evidence. Mountains of evidence. “We didn’t even know this room existed, but all thatshit out there. That wasn’t—none of that was here two hours ago.”
“What?” Valen’s sharp tone echoes in the room.
“We cleared this building twice. Every room, and I’m telling you, that shit wasn’t out there.” Roman moves along the wall, studying letters and each photo. “Someone did that today.”
The words land like a physical blow, and my gaze darts to each corner, then the exit. My chest sinks. Trapped. I’m trapped in here.
She was here. In this room, setting up her horror show, knowing we’d come back. Knowing we’d find it.
She’s waiting for us…somewhere.
“How?” Chief demands, coming into the room with Wrecks right behind him. The dog takes one look at the walls and starts growling, low and continuous, as he tugs and pulls to get to my side. “You’ve got cameras on this place. How did someone get in without you seeing?”
Roman’s jaw flexes. “I don’t know, but I’ll find out.” He unlocks his phone, pulling up what looks like security footage. His face darkens with each swipe of his thumb. “Nothing. No one entered through any of the doors or windows, and we’re monitoring from every goddamn angle.”
“There’s another way in,” Valen says.
“Has to be.” Roman turns to me. “Clover, do you remember if there are passages? Other secret rooms? Other entrances?”
My brain wants to splinter between focus and panic, but in this moment, I choose to be strong. To fight. To be in control. Closing my eyes, I force myself to sink into all the memories I’ve tried to avoid.
“The basement,” I whisper. “I wasn’t supposed to see her sneaking in, but she’d forgotten me down there.” The shock of fresh air blasts into me from the pits of my memory as though I’m back there—the scared little girl again. “When she openedthe door, there was a gust of wind. I think there’s a tunnel. I don’t know where it leads to?—”
“Show me,” Roman says.
But I can’t move. I’m frozen, staring at the walls, at the evidence of my stalking. It bleeds together with memories that typically only haunt my dreams.
It all proves that I’ve never truly been safe. I haven’t been free. I’ve been watched and studied and hunted.
“Clover.” Valen’s voice is soft now, gentle. His big hands cup my face, forcing me to look at him instead of the horror around us. “Breathe, Honeybee. Just breathe.”
“I—I can’t.”
“Yes, you can. With me. One.”
“Two,” I whisper.
“Three.”
