Chapter 16

The tension in the air was palpable as Erica sat alone in the dimly lit living room, her fingers curled around the blanket draped across her lap. Outside, the sky had darkened into a heavy, foreboding gray, and the wind howled like a distant warning.

Sophia had left for the evening, leaving Erica alone in the house for the first time since she’d returned from the hospital. It should have felt peaceful, but instead, there was an unsettling silence that seemed to crawl under her skin.

Her thoughts were restless, circling back to her conversation with Julian earlier that day. His insistence on leaving still weighed heavily on her mind, and she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong. There was a secret he was keeping, and the more she tried to ignore it, the more it gnawed at her.

Erica’s phone buzzed on the coffee table, pulling her out of her thoughts. She reached for it, hoping it was her grandfather with more information. Instead, the screen flashed with an unfa