**Lucia’s POV**

I pulled the heavy basement door shut, the latch clicking into place with a sound that felt final.

My heart was thudding against my ribs, but it wasn't the beat of fear. It was the rush of victory. It was the high I had been chasing for months.

Elena’s muffled sobs followed me up, a faint, pathetic echo. The image of her tied to that chair, helpless and broken, looking at me as if I were her last hope, replayed in my mind like a favorite movie. I shivered as a wave of pure ...