Chapter One
The Night Everything Changed
My name is Bella Krut.
I'm a teenager—at least technically.
I used to think the worst thing that could happen to me was having my heart broken.
I was wrong.
I had a cute boyfriend. Three years together. Three years of believing I knew him better than anyone else.
Then, on my birthday, I travelled all the way to England to surprise him.
Instead, I found him with another woman.
A blonde.
I remember standing there, staring at them, feeling as though the entire world had gone silent around me.
I don't think I've ever felt that kind of pain before.
Even now, whenever my mind drifts back to that day, it finds a way to turn the memory into a nightmare. I had given that relationship everything I had—my trust, my heart, my time.
I had even built parts of my future around him.
I don't like saying his name anymore.
But don't worry.
You'll meet him later.
I promise.
That night, all I wanted was to forget the world for a few hours.
I had just returned from work, exhausted enough to fall asleep standing. My only plan was a warm bath, comfortable pajamas, and my bed.
Simple.
Peaceful.
Until I heard it.
Click.
The sound came from my front door.
I stopped halfway through pulling my pajama top over my head.
For a moment, I didn't move.
Maybe I had imagined it.
Then came another sound.
A faint creak.
My stomach dropped.
Every hair on my body seemed to stand at attention.
Someone was inside.
My neighbourhood already had a reputation for becoming a completely different place after dark. Just the previous week, there had been news about a girl around my age who had been attacked and found dead the following morning.
I had tried not to think about it.
Now, standing alone in my bedroom, I couldn't think about anything else.
Who could possibly be inside?
I didn't wait for an answer.
I moved.
Quietly.
I slipped out of my room and into the kitchen, careful not to make a sound. My heartbeat was so loud I was convinced whoever was outside could hear it.
I reached the back door.
My fingers trembled as I unlocked it.
The moment it opened, I ran.
I didn't look back.
I just ran.
Bare feet against the cold ground.
Ragged breaths.
The sound of footsteps behind me.
They were following me.
My lungs burned as I pushed myself faster.
Then—
"I think she went that way!"
My blood ran cold.
I kept running.
I didn't dare look back until I stumbled over something and nearly fell.
I turned my head for one second.
That was all it took.
My foot landed awkwardly.
Pain shot through my ankle.
I crashed to the ground.
"Agh!"
I grabbed my ankle, biting down on the cry that threatened to escape me.
No.
No, no, no.
The footsteps were getting closer.
I could hear them.
Three voices.
Three sets of footsteps.
I tried to crawl backward, but my ankle screamed in protest.
My vision blurred.
This is it.
The thought came so suddenly that it terrified me more than the men behind me.
Was this really how my life would end?
I heard them getting closer.
Closer.
Closer.
Then a shadow fell over me.
I froze.
Someone was standing directly in front of me.
Tall.
Very tall.
I slowly lifted my head.
The darkness hid most of his face, but I could make out the outline of a broad figure standing completely still.
My breathing caught.
I tried to focus on his face, but my vision was already becoming hazy.
Behind him, three figures emerged from the darkness.
They were coming straight toward us.
I looked at the stranger again.
I didn't know him.
I didn't know if he was safe.
But at that moment, he was the only thing standing between me and them.
I reached forward and grabbed his leg.
"Please…"
My voice barely came out.
I tightened my grip.
"Help me. Don't leave me behind."
My mind had nothing else left to give.
The stranger didn't move.
And for one terrifying second, I wondered if I had made the biggest mistake of my life.
Then the darkness swallowed everything.