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Chapter 26 - Chapter 24 “The Eyes That Stared Back”

The silence that followed Sophia's words wasn't one of comfort or understanding.

It was dread.

James slowly withdrew his hand from her shoulder, his gaze falling not on her, but on the empty hallway that led to Angelo's room—still untouched, still eerily quiet. But Angelo wasn't there. He was far away, locked away in a facility none of them could reach, unconscious, sedated, and alone.

And yet, even in his absence, his presence loomed over them like a storm on the horizon.

Alex sat forward, hands clenched, a dozen unanswered questions boiling to the surface. "Why was I the only one who heard him crying that night? Why did the car break down? The doors unlock by themselves? Why were you studying the marks before we even met you?"

Sophia took a deep breath, folding her hands together tightly. "I don't have all the answers. But I have theories."

She looked at Alex first. "You were a child back then. Children can sense things that adults have learned to ignore. Maybe your soul hadn't dulled yet. Maybe… that part of you was still open, still pure. And that purity let you hear something no one else could."

Alex swallowed, eyes narrowing as her words stirred old, unsettled feelings. She continued, her voice soft.

"As for the car breaking down… the doors unlocking… it could've been him. Maybe even unconsciously. Maybe something inside him was calling out. Maybe he reached for you—your family. Somehow, he chose you."

She paused.

"Or something inside him did."

A cold silence followed.

James's voice came low, strained. "And the marks? Why were you tracking them?"

Sophia glanced down before answering. "Father Aldric. The priest your family took Angelo to when he was fifteen. He's the one who sent me."

That made Olivia go still.

Sophia didn't wait for them to speak. "That same day—after your visit—he contacted me. Told me about the mark. Told me he'd looked into the boy's eyes and saw something… something that didn't belong in this world."

James leaned forward, whispering. "What did he see?"

Sophia hesitated.

"When he looked into Angelo's eyes, he said he saw a void. Not emptiness. A void. Like looking into a bottomless pit. And while he stared into it… something stared back."

Emma, seated beside her mother, curled in tighter. Olivia instinctively pulled her close.

Alex's throat tightened.

"He's still just my little brother," he said quietly. "He always will be."

But even as he said it, part of him wondered—how much of that boy is left?

Sophia didn't answer that.

James stood, pacing slowly. "We found him alone. Hurt. We took him in. Raised him. Loved him. But if something else brought him to us…"

He didn't finish the thought. He didn't need to.

A weight settled over them. Doubt—subtle but sharp—crept into every corner of the room. Not doubt in what Angelo had been… but in what he was now. What he might become.

Olivia closed her eyes and whispered, "We should have done something sooner. We saw the signs."

"We did," James replied. "We took him to churches. To doctors. We tried."

"But it wasn't enough," Olivia said, her voice trembling. "And now they have him."

Sophia spoke again. "That's why I'm here. Because I believe he's still in there. But if we wait too long… we might not be able to reach him again."

Alex looked toward the darkened window, the night outside thick with silence.

"Do you really think he can come back from this?" he asked.

Sophia's answer came slowly.

"I don't know."

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