"Why are you alone here?" Flora asked, her voice barely a whisper against the movie's soundtrack.

Stella, engrossed in the film, barely registered the question before grabbing a handful of popcorn. "Theo went to the mansion," she mumbled, her eyes still glued to the screen.

Flora, persistent, pressed on. "Why didn't you go with him?"

Stella finally turned, her expression a mixture of annoyance and something else…fear? "We're watching a movie, Flora! Stop interrogating me," she snapped, ...