Kathrine had no idea how she managed to drive all the way to the Bennett mansion.
Her mind had gone blank the mont Roseline’s call ended. Instinct had taken over—nothing else.
But the second she stepped inside, an eerie silence crept over her.
The house felt... wrong.
Roseline’s phone continued to ring in her hand, but there was no answer.
"M-Mom?" Kathrine called out, her voice trembling slightly as it echoed through the empty hall.
No response.
Her grip on the phone tightened as panic began to rise in her chest.
She dialed again until a faint sound reached her ears.
A ringtone. Distant. Coming from sowhere deeper inside the house.
Kathrine froze for a split second before following the sound, her steps quick and uneven.
Her breathing grew heavier with each step and the ringing beca clearer the more she closer but then—
Her steps slowed and her heart dropped.
’Blood.’
Dark, sared streaks of blood stained the floor.
Kathrine’s throat went dry as she stared at it, her mind refusing to process what she was seeing.
"No..." she whispered.
Panic surged violently through her veins as she broke into a sprint, following the trail.
"MOM!"
Her scream tore through the silence as she reached the kitchen—
And there she was...
Roseline lay on the floor, her body trembling, her breathing shallow and uneven. Blood pooled beneath her, staining everything around her.
Kathrine rushed forward, dropping to her knees beside her.
"Mom! Mom, look at !" she cried, her hands shaking as she tried to press against the wound. "Don’t worry... nothing will happen to you... I’m here..."
Kathrine repeated trying to hold herself together, but the second she noticed Roseline’s eyes she stopped.
There was sothing in them.
Not relief. Not comfort.
Fear.
A deep, suffocating fear that made Kathrine’s brows furrow in confusion.
"M-Mom...?" she whispered.
Roseline’s lips trembled as she struggled to speak.
"H-He..." her voice broke.
Kathrine leaned closer.
"Who? What happened?"
Roseline’s fingers weakly clutched her sleeve.
"H-He is behind you..."
Kathrine’s entire body went still.
Her breath hitched and she slowly turned her head to look over her shoulder.
’Collin.’ her eyes went wide with realization.
He was standing just a few feet away.
Watching.
A smile slowly stretched across his face—cold, twisted, and filled with sothing that sent chills straight down her spine.
"Hello," he said casually.
Kathrine’s heart slamd violently against her chest, her body frozen between fear and shock.
But before she could react—
Collin grabbed a nearby vase.
And swung it hard against her head.
"Ah—!"
***
Ethan had no idea how long he had been asleep.
But when thunder cracked violently across the sky, he jolted awake, his eyes snapping open as his senses slowly returned.
Darkness.
The lights were out.
And the tray of food still rested untouched on the side table.
A deep frown settled on his face as he pushed himself up, his head slightly heavy from the sudden awakening. Sothing didn’t feel right.
"Kathrine?" he called, his voice low but clear.
Silence answered him.
His brows furrowed as he swung his legs off the bed and stood up, stepping out into the living room. The faint flashes of lightning from outside briefly illuminated the empty space.
She wasn’t there.
"Where did she go..." Ethan muttered under his breath, recalling how Kathrine had told him to change while she prepared dinner for him.
Instead, he had fallen asleep.
And now—
She was gone.
A strange uneasiness crept into his chest.
Pulling out his phone, he quickly dialed her number.
The call rang.
Once.
Twice.
Three tis.
No answer.
Ethan’s grip around the phone tightened as his curiosity shifted into concern. The thought of Kathrine stepping out alone in the middle of this storm made his heart pound harder against his chest.
"What the—"
He stopped mid-sentence.
The sharp sound of the doorbell echoed through the house.
Ding.
Ding.
Ding.
The abrupt noise cut through the silence, making his frown deepen.
Who would co at this hour?
Ethan strode toward the door, his mind already running through possibilities. But just as he reached for the handle—
His phone buzzed.
Kathrine.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Without wasting a second, he answered the call.
"Where are you, Kath—"
"Where is Kathrine?"
The voice that interrupted him wasn’t hers.
It was cold.
Unfamiliar.
Ethan froze.
His expression darkened instantly, his entire deanor shifting in a split second.
"Who is this?" he asked, his voice dropping dangerously low.
"She is with ."
Those four words were enough.
Enough to make his blood run cold.
Enough to make sothing inside him snap.
Ethan’s jaw clenched, his grip tightening around the phone as his eyes turned sharp and deadly.
"Collin..." he said slowly, recognizing the voice now.
A soft chuckle echoed from the other end.
"So you do recognize ," Collin replied, amusent lacing his tone.
Ethan’s gaze hardened.
"What do you want?"
There was no panic in his voice.
No hesitation.
Only controlled anger.
"And if you want her alive..." Collin continued, ignoring his question completely.
He paused deliberately, letting the silence stretch, letting the weight of his words sink in.
Ethan’s heartbeat grew louder in his ears.
"...then you’ll do exactly as I say."
The line went quiet for a second.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
Ethan’s fingers curled tightly around the phone, his knuckles turning white.
"Try anything smart..." Collin added, his voice turning colder, darker. "...and you’ll be collecting her body instead."
The call cut.
Beep.
Ethan lowered the phone slowly, his face expressionless—but his eyes burned with sothing lethal.
The storm outside roared louder.
But it was nothing compared to the storm rising within him.
Collin had just crossed a line.
And now, there was no going back.
"She is with him, isn’t she?" Anna’s voice faltered as the realization of her mother hit her, and the screams from the recording reverberated in her mind.
"Then it ans mom is..." Anna couldn’t finish her sentence, but it did leave Ethan with a lot of questions.
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