Chapter 16

• The rest of the drive was silent, save for the soft hum of the engine and the occasional whisper of tires against the pavement. My mind swirled with everything that had happened—the old man’s gaze, Isabelle’s trembling hands, the way Andre had dragged me out like we were escaping something I couldn’t even name.
• By the time we pulled up in front of my house, my thoughts were a tangled mess of unanswered questions. The streetlights cast long, thin shadows across the pavement, making everything seem just a little too still. The kind of stillness that made you feel like something was watching.
• Andre put the car in park, but he didn’t kill the engine. He sat there, staring ahead, fingers drumming lightly against the steering wheel. I could feel the tension radiating off him, thick enough to choke on.