Chapter 4 The Cabin

Ethan drove in silence, gripping the wheel tightly. Aria watched him, the locket warm against her chest. The roads were dark, illuminated only by the dashboard lights.

"Where are we going?" she asked, keeping her voice steady.

"My place. It's off the grid. They won't find you there."

Aria scoffed. "You really think I should trust you? After everything? After you testified against me and made me lose everything?"

Ethan's jaw tightened. He kept his eyes on the road. "I know you hate me. I can't blame you. But you need to listen. The Veiled One is real. It's using me to reach you. I'm not in control anymore."

"How do you know about the Veiled One?"

He hesitated, glancing at the rearview mirror. "I've seen things. Hallucinations. A woman in a white dress, her face is a blur. She whispers. She says if I don't get you to her, she'll kill everyone I love, starting with you."

Aria's breath caught. "The patient I 'killed'-Mr. Carter. What happened to him?"

Ethan's eyes flickered. "He started having visions. A woman in white. He became violent and attacked a nurse. I sedated him. But when I checked on him later, he was different. Cold and smiling. He said, 'Tell Aria I'm waiting.' Then he died. They said it was a heart attack. But I know better. I saw her in his eyes. The Veiled One."

Aria's thoughts raced. The Veiled One was in Mr. Carter?

Ethan pulled into a hidden cabin surrounded by trees. The cabin was small and wooden, with a porch light flickering. "We're here."

Inside, the cabin was cozy with wooden beams, a fireplace, and a couch with a knitted blanket. Aria's old medical textbooks were on a shelf, their spines cracked from use. Titles included Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine and Neurosurgery: A