The first thing Matthew noticed when he woke was that Vinny wasn't beside him.
The second thing was the silence.
Not the peaceful kind—the kind that pressed against the walls too tightly, the kind that didn't breathe.
Matthew sat up instantly, heart already racing. The sheets were cold where Vinny should have been. Too cold.
"Vinny?" His voice came out rough.
No answer.
He was on his feet in seconds, barefoot on the marble floor, every instinct screaming. The mansion's security system hummed softly—green across the board. No breach. No alarms.
And yet.
Matthew pulled on a shirt and stepped into the corridor. Somewhere far down the hall, a door creaked.
The sound pulled him forward like a hook in his spine.
Vinny stood in the eastern wing, half-dressed, leaning against the window as dawn bled pale gold across the gardens.
He hadn't slept after the nightmare.
Mines beneath skin.
Blood blooming through flowers.
