CARMEN'S POV

Rain battered the windows aggressively, like the night wanted itself inside.

It wasn’t the kind of rain that lulled, It struck the tall glass panes of the Castellano mansion with violence.

Each drop came in sharp and relentless, echoing through the vast structure like a warning.

The storm drowned every other sound. The wind, distant city, the world beyond these walls until the house felt sealed off, suspended in its own private darkness.

I lay awake beneath silk sheets, ...