Chapter 1 1

Delina gripped the steering wheel so hard her knuckles turned the color of old bone. The rain was a solid gray sheet against the windshield, the wipers thrashing back and forth in a frantic, useless rhythm that matched the hammering of her heart.

She checked the rearview mirror again.

The headlights were still there. Two blinding orbs cutting through the storm, closer now than they had been ten seconds ago.

Her breath hitched in her throat, a sharp, jagged intake of air that tasted like fear and stale car ac. She pressed her foot down on the accelerator, the engine whining in protest as the speedometer climbed.

This wasn't paranoia. Paranoia didn't drive a black SUV that had been tailing her since she left the city limits. Paranoia didn't drift into her lane and then back off, toying with her.

The metallic screech of bumper against bumper tore through the noise of the storm.

Delina screamed. The sound was raw, scraped from the bottom of her lungs. Her car lurched forward, the rear tires losing traction on the slick asphalt. She fought the wheel, overcorrecting, her arms trembling violently.

It was no use. The world tilted.

Gravity shifted, pulling her sideways, then upside down. Glass exploded inward, a glittering shower of diamonds that sliced at her skin. Metal crunched with a sound like a giant stepping on a soda can.

Then, impact.

A searing pain ripped through her chest, hot and absolute. It was followed instantly by a cold so deep it felt like her blood had turned to ice water.

Darkness swallowed her vision. The sound of the rain faded into a high-pitched ring that drilled into her skull.

Then, nothing.

Or rather, something else.

Delina felt a strange weightlessness. It was a sensation of being pulled upward, like a bubble rising to the surface of a lake.

She opened her eyes.

She was hovering ten feet in the air. Below her, illuminated by the harsh yellow glow of a streetlamp, was a mangled sedan wrapped around a guardrail. Steam hissed from the crushed hood.

She looked closer. Through the shattered windshield, she saw a woman slumped over the wheel. Blood dripped from a gash on the woman's forehead, pooling on the dashboard.

Delina brought a hand to her mouth to scream, but no sound came out. She looked at her hand. It was translucent, fading at the edges like smoke.

The horror paralyzed her. That was her body down there. That was her blood.

Before she could process the impossible, the scene shifted. It wasn't a fade or a cut; it was a violent yank, a magnetic force dragging her spirit through space.

She blinked, and the rain was gone.

She was in the drawing room of the Ballard Estate. A fire crackled warmly in the hearth, casting dancing shadows on the velvet furniture. The smell of expensive perfume and old wood polish filled the air.

Florene stood by the liquor cabinet, pouring vintage champagne into two crystal flutes. Her movements were slow, deliberate, almost celebratory.

Kassidy sat on the sofa, tossing a thick legal document onto the coffee table. She laughed, a light, airy sound that Delina had always associated with sisterly affection. Now, it sounded like shards of glass rubbing together.

"To the end of the nuisance," Florene said, handing a glass to her daughter.

Kassidy took it, her eyes gleaming. "The accident was worth every penny paid to that driver. Do you think she suffered?"

"Does it matter?" Florene took a sip, savoring it. " The trust fund unlocks at midnight upon her confirmed death. We're free, darling. And rich."

Delina floated near the fireplace, shock freezing her spirit cold. Her stepmother. Her sister. They were toasting her murder.

Rage, hot and volcanic, boiled within her. She lunged at Florene, swinging her hand toward the woman's face.

Her fingers passed harmlessly through Florene's shoulder. A slight shiver ran through Florene, and she rubbed her arm, frowning. "Drafty in here."

The magnetic pull seized Delina again.

She was back at the crash site. The rain was still falling, but now the area was swarming with the blue and red strobe of police lights.

A sleek, armored Maybach screeches to a halt, bypassing the police line with an arrogance that belonged to only one man.

Hiram Tyson stepped out. He ignored the bodyguard who scrambled to open an umbrella. He walked into the storm, his expensive suit soaking through instantly.

He limped heavily, his left leg dragging slightly, a weakness he usually hid with terrifying efficiency. The silver half-mask he always wore gleamed under the streetlamps, hiding the left side of his face.

A police officer stepped forward, hand raised. "Sir, this is a crime sc-"

Hiram shoved the man aside. It wasn't a push; it was a dismissal of the officer's existence.

He reached the wreckage. He ripped the driver's side door open with his bare hands, ignoring the jagged metal that sliced into his palms.

Delina watched, confused. Why was he here? The monster who barely spoke to her? The man who looked at her with what she thought was disdain?

Hiram touched the cold cheek of her corpse. His hand trembled violently.

"Delina," he whispered.

His voice cracked. It sounded nothing like the tyrant she knew. It sounded like a man watching his world burn down.

He pulled a small, bloodstained velvet box from his pocket. He stared at it for a second, then dropped to his knees in the mud.

A guttural roar of anguish tore from his throat, louder than the thunder. He bowed his head against the steering wheel, his shoulders heaving.

He looked up at the sky, eyes burning with a madness that terrified the police officers standing nearby.

"I will kill them," he vowed, his voice a low growl that vibrated in the air. "I will slaughter every single one of them."

Delina reached out, trying to touch the silver mask, trying to comfort the beast who was weeping for her.

She realized too late. He had loved her. He had always loved her.

Darkness began to creep into the edges of her vision, a final, absolute black.