Three weeks passed.

Three weeks without a single word from Valerius. No visits, no texts, no phone calls. Nothing. It was as if he had vanished from her life, dissolved into smoke and shadows after that night of terror.

At first, Chloe told herself it was a blessing. She needed space, time to think, time to breathe. She clung to that fragile hope, maybe he was gone for good, maybe the nightmare was over.

But it wasn’t.

Because her body betrayed her.

Every night, the ache grew worse. ...