Before Noemie could reach Lina, her foot slammed into a tree root and the force sent her sprawling. But what truly stopped her was not the forest.....it was Annelise. With a feral scream, she struck Noemie across the back with a broken branch. The blow cracked through the silence. Noemie's body....already trembling and drained—collapsed to the ground like a marionette with its strings cut.
"No! Bitch, what have you done?" Seraina's voice cracked as she tried to rise to her feet, but hands like iron shackles seized her. The women had reached her.
Annelise shoved Lina hard, slamming her back against a tree. Her breath hitched, fury and betrayal flashing in her eyes.
"What the fuck did you just do?!" she screamed.
But Lina, calm and unreadable, grabbed Annelise by the collar, pulled her close.....and kissed her.
The kiss wasn't one of affection. It was laced with pain, desperation, and something else: revelation.
Annelise froze, confused, lips trembling.
"I know everything now," Lina whispered against her skin. "I see it. I understand."
In Matteo's house, the light had dimmed to a gentle dusk. Eliane lay on the bed, face drenched in sweat, eyelids twitching from the fever. The doctor stood beside Matteo, who looked anything but patient.
"She's been overexerted. I've given her medicine and sedatives. She needs warmth, sleep, and quiet. Keep her hydrated. I'll check again tomorrow."
The door closed behind the doctor, leaving Matteo in the dim silence. He stared at Eliane.
"Take care, he says," Matteo muttered, pouring water into a glass. "She ruined my life. And now look at me.....cleaning her up like some doting boyfriend."
He walked over and tried to feed her water, but her lips barely parted.
Suddenly, Eliane began to shiver uncontrollably. The blanket covering her fell to the floor.
"Shit..... professor!" Matteo scrambled, catching her hands. They were cold, icy. He hesitated, stared at her flushed cheeks, then at his own trembling hands.
With a grunt, he stripped off his shirt and pants and climbed into the bed beside her. He pulled the blanket back over both of them, pressing her close to his body.
"Don't die," he muttered. "Not before you answer me. Not before you suffer too."
His voice trembled more than hers.
Back in the forest, Lina watched Seraina being surrounded. She didn't blink.
"Let me go, you fucking bitch!" Annelise screamed at her. "She's going to die—because of you!"
But Lina didn't flinch.
The women tied Seraina's legs and arms to a thick log. Her skin was bruised, streaked with dried blood. Seraina tried to scream, but one of the women silenced her with a kiss...deep, cruel, smothering.
Another woman approached with a knife.
"No! No!" Annelise shouted, tears cascading down her cheeks.
Seraina's body trembled. Her eyes locked with Lina's for a brief second....something passed between them. Pain. Understanding. Surrender.
Annelise released Lina, her strength drained by the horror before her.
Lina stepped forward slowly, eyes narrowing at the scene. But she didn't cry, didn't shout. Her expression remained carved in stone.
Then the knife descended.
Fade to black.