Chapter 10

DOMINIC’S POV I should have felt at peace. Evelyn was back. Olivia was out of the way. Everything I had once lost was within my grasp again. Then why did it feel like everything was slipping through my fingers? I leaned back in my chair, staring at the dying embers in the fireplace. The flickering flames cast shadows against the walls, but none of them could chase away the unease tightening in my chest. I exhaled sharply, pinching the bridge of my nose. My mind drifted to the past—to Evelyn. She had saved my life once. That happened when I was a child. I remember the sun was shining brightly that day as I played alone by the lake. Without realizing it, I wandered into the deeper part of the water. Suddenly, a tangle of weeds wrapped around my ankle. I struggled, but the more I fought, the deeper I sank. Cold lake water rushed into my nose, into my throat. I desperately tried to breathe, only to inhale more water. In that moment of despair, I looked up and saw sunlight filtering through