Chapter 4

I woke to Ethan's quiet sobs in the darkness of our basement prison. The digital clock glowed 3:17 AM as I slipped from my bed and crossed to his pullout couch, my bare feet cold against the concrete floor.

"Sweetheart," I whispered, sitting beside his trembling form. "Another nightmare?"

He nodded, tears glistening on his cheeks in the dim light filtering through the small basement window. "I dreamed about Lily again. And then Mason was there, and he was... he was tearing her apart."

My heart clenched. The torn drawings. The crushed locket. These weren't just attacks on me—they were…