Isabel couldn't shake the feeling.
Ever since seeing Leo, her nerves buzzed with a tension she couldn't name. She'd known Damon was dangerous. But now? Now it felt like she was trapped inside a story that has started long before she ever arrived.
She walked through the east wing for the first time, drawn by something she didn't understand. It was quieter here. The air colder. The walls older. As if this part of the house has been sealed off from the present - and forgotten.
Until she saw it.
A door.
Unmarked. Dusty. Locked.
But something in her needed to open it.
Upstairs, in Damon's study...
He stood staring at a photo on his desk. A photo of Evelyn.
Dark-haired. Smiling. Innocent.
Dead.
Her necklace still sat in the drawer. Still stained. And Damon... still haunted.
A knock interrupted him.
"Come in."
Cara entered quietly. "Sir, Isabel was seen near the east wing."
His face turned to stone.
"She shouldn't be there."
"I know. But - she seemed... drawn."
Damon stood. "Seal it off. Now."
"But -"
"Do it"
Because the east wing held more memories.
It held the truth.
And the truth... could shatter them both.