1:30 PM. The Carter Mansion.

Vivienne walked through the front door, the rustle of shopping bags announcing her arrival. She didn’t stumble. She didn’t look exhausted. She walked with a strange, buzzing energy.

Elizabeth was waiting in the foyer, her hands twisted anxiously in her lap. She stood up the moment she saw her daughter.

“Vivienne? Are you okay? Did she hurt you?”

Vivienne dropped the bags on the floor. She took off her sunglasses, revealing eyes that were bright, alert, and terrifyingly clear.

“She tried,” Vivienne said, a small, dark smile playing on her lips. “She drove like a maniac over the bridge. She tried to make me scream....