He told the truth on paper, out loud, in front of the family that depended on his silence, and I watched Dax realize that his own father had just become an obstacle rather than an ally, and I filed that realization away without yet knowing how lethal it would turn out to be.

Dax leaned slowly across the table until I could smell the mint on his breath, and his eyes had nothing human left in them.

“A piece of paper won’t keep you safe out in the real world, Jennifer,” he said, soft as a promise.

I clutched the will to my chest, with no idea yet how much darker the ground beneath that house would prove to be.

Chapter 6 — Behind the Panel