Things had gotten better since he’d come to Acheron. It had been years since he’d last thought about that bell tower. About what it would feel like to fly.

Everything was different when you didn’t have to be alone.

But Delilah hadn’t been alone. She was constantly surrounded by people.

Maybe she’d been just as alone anyway, and no one had noticed.

A sudden knock on the door made him jump. It sounded too much like the knocking they’d heard that night in the old dining room.

That was stupid. Brandon shook it off and opened the door. Sure enough, there was nothing sinister on the other side. Instead, there was Mateo.

Despite everything—the fear and the anxiety and the guilt and all the other stuff he didn’t have words for—Brandon smiled. Mateo smiled back.

He closed the door behind him.

Maria barely noticed the roll of thunder that rocked the building as she sank deeper into the seat next to Lily. She’d give anything to collapse at Lily’s feet again and have Lily tell her what to do next.

But she couldn’t do that. She had a part to play. She had to sit here and act like she wasn’t screaming inside.

If only she could hit Rewind. Go back to that moment, sitting at the bar, with the capsule in her hand. The capsule of who the hell knew what. Oxy? Ecstasy? LSD? She’d lost track.

If only she could tuck it back in her purse. Go on with her night. Pretend to laugh at Delilah’s jokes. Take her home, go to bed, and wake up tomorrow, ready for another day in Delilah’s shadow.

It would be better than this. Anything would be.

Nothing was ever going to be right again. Every day, for the rest of her life, she’d remember what she’d done.

She hadn’t seen Delilah since she’d disappeared out the window. It had happened so fast. All she’d gotten was a glimpse of Delilah’s blond hair ducking out of sight. Then she’d seen Delilah’s shoe come off, falling out the window a second after she did.

Maria looked again at the police officers. Another one had come in a minute ago, a woman. She was typing something on her phone. The other one was accepting a fresh cup of coffee from Ross. Neither of them seemed likely to haul Maria off to jail anytime soon.

But the doctors and the detectives were bound to figure out someone had slipped the drug to Delilah. They’d find out who Delilah had gone out with that night, and it would all be over.

It was only supposed to be oxy.

Lily lied to her. Why did Lily lie to her?

Ross came out of the office. He went up to the policewoman and muttered something to her. She shook her head.