Ivy stumbled out of Verdant Manor, her hands shaking, her mind racing. She didn't know if Aurora was alive or dead, and she didn't care. All she knew was that she needed to escape.
She drove until the sun began to rise, her thoughts a tangled mess of fear, guilt, and relief. The weight of everything she had discovered pressed down on her, but she refused to let it break her.
Months passed. Ivy moved to a new city, changed her name, and started over. But the scars of Verdant Manor lingered. She couldn't shake the feeling that Aurora was still out there, watching, waiting.
One day, she received a letter in the mail. The envelope was unmarked, the handwriting unfamiliar. But the message inside was chilling.