The moment I pushed the car door open, the warm breeze of the school courtyard swept over me, carrying the faint scent of flowers and cut grass. It should have been comforting, but instead it felt like an intrusion, a reminder that I was standing on ground Celeste also walked on. My pulse pounded against my ribs as if my body already knew what was coming.

And then I heard it.

“Isabella?”

My name. Her voice. Smooth and honeyed, but threaded with the same false sweetness I remembered from ...