Noa’s hands trembled as the video ended, the screen still black, but his mind screaming in red. Alessio. Bound. Bleeding. And behind him, the one ghost he never thought he’d see breathing again his mother. Real. Broken. A heartbeat away from being silenced forever. Eve’s voice had carved itself into his ribs, each word laced with cruelty and finality.

Tick tock, Noa.

He dropped the phone. It cracked against the gravel like a snapped bone.

“I’m going,” he said, voice flat.

Ivy’s ...