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Three days out, I fell apart.

Ethan's silence in that café was a splinter that had worked its way in deep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't sleep. I locked myself in my room — curtains drawn, lights off — and sat in the dark and let it press down on me.

Vivian called, her voice urgent. "Sophie, what is going on? Ethan called me. He said you've disappeared."

"Vivian." My voice came out in pieces. "I don't know if he's real. I don't know if any of it was real. I don't know if I can actually go through with this."

"Sophie." Her voice softened. "You have two options. Confront him tonight — directly, no more circling around it. Or you walk."

She was right. I couldn't stay suspended between these two possibilities forever.

Evening fell. Rain began — soft and persistent, like it had been waiting all day.

I packed a bag. Quietly. I didn't tell anyone.

I slipped out of the estate under the darkness. The light in Ethan's room was still on. I didn't look for long.

I didn't have the courage to ask him the question that mattered. Not anymore.

I'd just reached the main gates when the men appeared.

Five of them. Dark coats. Blocking my path.

"Miss Harrington." The one in front spoke pleasantly, like this was a perfectly ordinary invitation. "Diana Blackwood would like a word with you."

The rain hit my face. Cold. Immediate.

I tightened my grip on my bag. "No. Get out of my way."

They didn't move. They took a step forward.

The darkness around me suddenly felt total.

Would I make it out?

Would Ethan come?