Sophia's POV
She shrugged, smug. “Still more than you.”
That was it.
I slapped the phone out of her hand. It hit the floor with a sharp crack.
Natalie barely had time to react before I grabbed her.
My hand went straight for her throat.
We both stumbled back, knocking into the bedside table. Something rolled across the floor—then the sharp, unmistakable smell hit me.
Gasoline.
My stomach dropped.
“Natalie—what did you—”
The bottle tipped fully, spilling out across the carpet.
She smiled.
Then a spark.
I didn’t even see what caused it—just a flash, then fire.
It erupted fast, crawling up the curtains, licking the walls like it had been waiting for this moment.
“Stop—!” I coughed, backing away as smoke filled the room.
Natalie grabbed my arm, pushing, shoving, both of us scrambling as the fire grew between us like a living thing.
The heat was unbearable. My lungs burned on the first breath.
Somewhere in the chaos, she screamed.
And I fell.
---
“Sophia!”
The voice cut through the roar of flames.
I forced my eyes open through the smoke.
Damon.
He was at the doorway, shouting, fighting with security as they tried to hold him back.
“Sir! You can’t go in—!”
“Get out of my way!”
My heart twisted painfully.
For one stupid second, I thought—
He came for me.
“Damon!” I tried to lift myself. My voice broke. “I’m here!”
Natalie’s voice rang out immediately behind me, weak and perfect.
“Damon… please… help me…”
Everything changed in his expression.
That was all it took.
He ran past me.
Straight to her.
He didn’t even look back.
---
I don’t know how long I stayed there after that.
The smoke got thicker. Heavier. My vision blurred until everything turned into heat and noise.
And then something in me snapped into survival.
I don’t even remember deciding.
One moment I was choking on the floor.
The next—
Pain.
Bones shifting. Skin tearing. Breath turning into something deeper, instinctive.
I changed.
The world sharpened instantly. Sound. Smell. Movement.
Fire wasn’t just fire anymore—it was a wall I could read, a path I could escape.
I grabbed my bag with my teeth and ran.
Glass shattered as I threw myself through a window. It sliced into my side, but I didn’t stop.
I landed hard outside, rolling into the grass, coughing violently.
Alive.
Barely.
I didn’t look back at the burning house.
I just ran.
Through a side path. Through darkness. Through pain I didn’t have time to feel.
Until I found a service gate left open.
And I kept going.
Even when my legs gave out.
Even when my lungs felt like they were tearing apart.
I didn’t stop until the estate was gone behind me.
---
The flight terminal was quiet.
Too quiet.
I sat in the corner seat, wrapped in a borrowed coat, my hands still shaking slightly.
My phone buzzed.
Damon.
Don’t play games, Sophia. I don’t have time for hide-and-seek.
I stared at the screen.
No anger.
No sadness.
Just… nothing.
Then I turned the phone off.
