"Ivy, whatever you do, don't open that door. Don't let Alex Fox fool you. He's the one who insisted on diving at Nine Dome Skylight despite everyone warning him. A professional dive team lost members there not long ago—and he's not even certified. He just had to go anyway."
"It's fine, really. You were only engaged. A few years of dating isn't worth throwing your whole life away. Once this blows over, you two will have nothing to do with each other."
"Ivy, don't worry. We're on our way. Almost there."
My heart was pounding so hard I thought it might burst. I typed out my reply with trembling fingers.
I'd gotten a pretty manicure for the engagement, and my nails clicking against the screen were impossibly loud. Alex heard it immediately. He flew into a rage and threw himself against my bedroom door like a madman.
"Ivy, open the door! Who are you texting? You ignore me, you don't reply to my messages, but you're chatting away with someone else? What am I to you? Have you ever respected me at all? Open. The. Door!"
I screamed, tears streaming down my face, begging him to stop.
But he couldn't hear a word I said. He just kept ramming the door.
Then suddenly—I don't know what he saw in the living room—he kicked over the burning copper basin.
The crash was deafening. His rage exploded.
"Why did you burn everything for our engagement? The clothes and shoes I bought you—you burned them all? Ivy Shaw, what the hell are you doing?!"
He charged at my door again. The flimsy thing couldn't take much more—it was already buckling. With every hit, more water surged from his body, pooling across my floor.
I curled up inside the closet, watching helplessly as he forced a gap in the door, shoved a dripping arm through, and twisted the useless lock open.
Crack—
The bedroom door swung wide. Alex stepped inside.
Panicking, I covered my eyes, too terrified to look. Footsteps approached—closer, closer—until he was standing right in front of the closet.
Just as he reached for the handle, everything went black.
I don't know what happened after I fainted. I only remember feeling so cold, my body soaking wet, like something was holding me.
When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in my own bed.
Mom and Dad were already home, standing by my bedside with tense expressions.
"The footprints confirm it—Alex Fox was here. I came in first and saw a figure climb over the wall and run off."
"Oh God, it really was him? Did Alex know something before he died? About us—"
"Shh!"
Dad's sharp hiss cut her off. The next second, his cold gaze landed on me.
Instinct screamed danger. Before he could say anything, I shut my eyes and pretended to still be unconscious.
Then I heard words that made my blood run cold.
