Evelyn’s POV“Officers! Did he tell you anything?!” My voice cracked as I screamed across the hallway, my feet stumbling forward, frantic. “Did he say why? Why he killed my mom?!”The chaos of the hospital buzzed behind me, machines beeping, nurses rushing, the quiet hum of suffering, but all I could hear was my own voice, trembling and desperate.One of the officers turned, face tight with something between exhaustion and sympathy. Louis was right behind me, his hand grabbing mine weakly, trying to keep up despite his healing body. He shouldn’t have been on his feet yet, but there he was, still trying to hold me together.“Tell me!” I yelled again, ignoring the stares from nearby nurses and patients. “Why did he do it? What did he say before he died?!”The officer exchanged a glance with his partner before sighing. “Yes… he said something.”My heart stopped. “What?” I stepped closer. “What did he say?!”The officer looked pained as he answered, like the words themselves were hard to
Evelyn’s POVAnd I knew.That look in his eyes, cold, measured, inhuman, was all I needed. He didn’t come here to talk. He came to finish what he started. To end me. Again.But this time, I wasn’t alone.After Dave died, I refused to be the woman who waited around, praying for miracles. I’d worked with the police. I told them I knew he’d come for me. He wouldn’t be able to resist. So, they hid, disguised, stationed all around the hospital, weapons ready, snipers positioned, cameras set up to capture every step. We baited the trap, and the monster walked right into it.He raised the knife higher.“Drop it,” I said through clenched teeth, voice sharp with steel.Still, he smiled. Still, he took a step forward.The hospital door flung open."FREEZE!" a voice bellowed. Boots thundered in. Uniformed officers flooded the room in seconds. One of them, the same officer who promised me they'd find him, stepped forward with his gun raised, eyes locked on the man. “Drop your weapon. Now!”The ma
Evelyn’s POV“We found his location.”The words barely left the officer’s lips before I was on my feet. My chair scraped loudly against the hospital floor, startling even the nurse passing by."Yes. You found his location," I repeated, breath catching. My heart thudded like a war drum. I grabbed the officer's sleeve. “Please… just make sure you find him. Please.” My voice trembled, but the urgency in it was steel.He gave me a tight nod. “We will.”But that wasn’t enough. It would never be enough until he was gone. Until the monster who burned through everything I loved was erased from this world. He doesn’t get to live while Dave lies cold in a morgue.I stepped back, then turned and moved quickly, almost blindly, through the hospital corridors. The smell of antiseptic clung to everything. My shoes hit the tile harder than I intended. I wasn’t just walking. I was marching. Hunting. Rage guided my feet, and grief lit the path.I had one more stop to make before the end began.I pushed
Evelyn’s POVThe rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor was the only sound grounding me. Each beat was a fragile tether, keeping him alive… keeping me sane. I hadn’t moved from his side. My hand had never left his. And even though his fingers hadn’t twitched again, I held on to hope like a lifeline.The nightmare was almost over. His parents were in custody. The people who had laughed while he suffered were behind bars. I should’ve felt triumphant, like justice was finally tipping in our favor. And yet, my heart wouldn’t rest. Not until the last piece, the darkest one, was caught.Him.The one who orchestrated it all. The one who destroyed everything I loved. The man who killed my mother… the root of all this pain.He was still out there.I reached for my phone with one hand, still gripping my husband’s cold fingers with the other. I called the officer I’d spoken to earlier.“Detective Hale,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “Any updates?”“We need you at the station,” he said urg
Evelyn's POV I stared at the mask in my trembling hands, the artificial face staring blankly back at me. Its stillness was disturbing, but the craftsmanship was terrifyingly perfect. Every pore, every lash… it looked real. Too real.My voice barely rose above a whisper. “I wear this… and become someone else?”Dave’s eyes were steady on me, but there was a storm beneath them. He nodded once, jaw clenched. “Not someone else. Someone they trust. Someone who can walk through their front door without raising suspicion.”I looked up at him, my breath shaky. “And what if I fail? What if they know?”His brow furrowed. “You won’t fail. Not this time. You’ve been through hell and came out alive. You’re ready.”The room felt colder somehow. I took a deep breath, nodded slowly, and stood, gripping the mask tighter. “Let’s do it.”~~~The hotel room was quiet. We’d switched locations just an hour before, and I knew exactly why. I’d told Dave the truth: someone had followed us to the last place. I
Evelyn's POVThe door slammed shut behind me with a clang that echoed in my bones. The room was pitch black, the kind of darkness that swallowed everything, even hope. The guards didn’t care. They didn’t say a word. They just shoved me in like a sack of trash, the door locking with a brutal finality.I stumbled forward and crashed against the cold, unforgiving wall. My hands stretched out, searching, trembling. There was nothing but stone, shadows, and silence. My breath came out in harsh gasps. My heart was in a frenzy, hammering so loud it filled the room."Help me! Please! Somebody! Get me out of here!" I screamed, banging my fists against the wall. My voice bounced off the walls, wild and desperate. "I can’t stay here, please!"But no one came.I kept hitting, harder and harder, my knuckles beginning to sting and swell. Tears blurred my vision. I sank to the floor, shaking, curling into myself like a child. The room was ice, and my body felt brittle, like it could snap.Then I hea