Darkness didn't hit Mara all at once.
It leaked in pieces—fragmented, spinning, drowning the edges of sound.
Then a sharp, metallic taste filled her mouth.
Voices.
Footsteps.
The sound of something dragging across a floor.
Her eyelids fluttered.
A cold surface pressed against her cheek.
Concrete.
Her wrists burned. Something rough—plastic ties—dug into her skin. Her head throbbed with every heartbeat, and each breath scraped through her like broken glass.
"Mara…? Mara, can you hear me?"
Evelyn.
Mara forced her eyes open.
The room was dim, lit only by a flickering fluorescent bulb. The walls were unfinished concrete, stained dark in places. Pipes rattled overhead like they were breathing.
Evelyn sat beside her, wrists bound, face streaked with dried blood. Her eyes were shining with fear—but also with relief.
"Mara," she whispered again. "Oh thank God—"
"Where…?" Mara groaned, trying to sit up.
Evelyn shook her head quickly. "Don't move. They hit you hard."
Mara swallowed the pain and scanned the room.
Three men stood near the door. Heavy boots. Black clothing. Masks. Armed.
But her eyes locked on the fourth figure deeper in the shadows.
Daniel.
He sat calmly on a metal chair, one leg crossed over the other, blood still seeping from the wound in his shoulder. He looked like he'd just come home from work—relaxed, patient.
Waiting.
Mara's pulse spiked. "Let Evelyn go."
Daniel tilted his head. "You're awake. Good. I was worried they'd hit you too hard."
"Daniel," Evelyn said, voice trembling, "you don't have to do this—please, don't do this—"
His gaze slid to her.
Not angry.
Not annoyed.
Just… empty.
"Evelyn," Daniel said quietly, "you should stop talking now."
Evelyn's breath hitched.
Mara shifted closer to her. "Don't touch her."
Daniel sighed softly—almost disappointed.
"This is what I mean."
He leaned forward, elbows on his knees.
"You always choose people who don't deserve you."
Mara glared at him. "Let her go. I'll stay. I won't fight."
Daniel smiled faintly. "You're still assuming this is a negotiation."
One of the masked men stepped forward, handing him a small black case. Daniel opened it—and removed a silver recorder.
Mara's stomach twisted.
"Do you remember this?" he asked.
She shook her head. "Daniel… stop."
He pressed play.
A voice crackled out.
Shaky. Panicked.
Hers.
"…Daniel—please, stop—Dad said we shouldn't—Daniel—NO—"
Mara froze.
Every muscle locked.
Evelyn stared at her in shock, horror slowly blooming across her face. "Mara…?"
"No," Mara whispered, shaking her head violently. "That's not real. That's not—"
Daniel stopped the recorder.
"That night," he said quietly, "is the reason we're here."
Mara's breath came fast and shallow.
She felt like she was being pulled underwater again, dragged down by a memory she had spent her entire life burying.
"You were ten," Daniel said. "I was twelve. You remember the lake. You remember what happened before the police found us."
Mara's vision blurred.
"Don't," she whispered.
"You begged me to save you," Daniel said. "You begged me not to let him pull you under."
Evelyn stared between them, horrified. "Daniel—what are you talking about?"
Daniel's gaze softened in a way that made Mara sick.
"I saved you, Mara. But he didn't want you saved."
Mara squeezed her eyes shut. "Stop it."
But he didn't.
"You don't remember the last thing Dad said before he died, do you?"
"No—!"
Daniel lowered his voice to a whisper—almost loving.
"He said you should've been the one to drown."
The world went silent.
The room, the masked men, Evelyn's breathing—everything vanished in a white-hot ringing.
Mara felt the ground tilt beneath her.
Evelyn gasped softly, covering her mouth. "Mara… that's not true—he's lying—he's lying—"
Daniel watched her with heartbreaking gentleness.
"You don't want to believe it," he said. "But you know it's there. Under your skin. In every nightmare you ever had."
Mara shook her head. "I—I don't remember—"
"You do."
Daniel leaned closer. "And you will. Right now."
He snapped his fingers.
One of the masked men stepped forward.
Carrying a bucket.
Full of water.
Mara's body reacted before her mind could. Her breath seized. Her wrists strained violently against the ties.
"No—NO—don't—"
"Mara," Evelyn whispered, her voice breaking completely. "Look at me. Focus on me—please—"
But Daniel wasn't looking at Evelyn anymore.
He was watching Mara with the fascination of someone observing a long-awaited experiment.
"Every memory you buried," Daniel murmured, "I'm going to bring it back."
He nodded to the masked man.
"Hold her."
Hands grabbed Mara, pinning her to the ground as she kicked and fought, panic exploding inside her chest like fire.
"Mara!" Evelyn screamed. "Mara, fight—!"
Daniel stood, calm as ever, stepping into the flickering light.
"I'm doing this for you," he said softly.
Then he whispered the last thing Mara heard before the water hit her face:
"It's time to finish what Dad started."