Emily's POV.

The city was dead quiet by the time I pulled into the driveway. The mansion was ahead, cold and perfect, like nothing had changed. But everything had.

My fingers ached from gripping the steering wheel too hard. My head pounded. My throat was raw from screaming inside the car for hours.

I had driven with no destination, letting the empty streets swallow me whole. The city had blurred past in streaks of headlights and neon signs, but I barely registered any of it. All I knew was the crushing weight in my chest. The fire in my lungs. The echoes of my own voice screaming words I couldn’t...