chaper ninety-seven

**Eleanor's POV**

I knew I should stay quiet as Amber had asked, but I couldn’t sleep that night.

"Alice... Alice..." I murmured, tossing and turning in bed.

The image of that young woman suffering haunted my mind. Her wide, terrified eyes, the trembling in her hands as Tyler dragged her down the hallway—all of it tormented me.

I sat up in bed, feeling my heart race. The room was silent, but my mind was in turmoil. It wasn’t fair. I couldn’t ignore the guilt gnawing at me. Alice was out there, facing unimaginable dangers because of me.

I got up and went to the window, looking out into the darkness. Snow fell softly, covering the world in a cold, white layer. But the peace the scene should have brought didn’t reach me. Instead, I felt more isolated and helpless than ever.

"I can’t just stay here and do nothing," I whispered to myself, clenching my fists. "She’s risking her life for me. I have to do something."

I paced back and forth in the room, the restlessness growing inside me. With