The screech of the train brakes echoed through the terminal. Sophie Laurent stood on the platform, a single bag at her feet. She checked her phone. One missed call from William. She deleted it.
“You don’t have to do this alone,” a voice said.
Dr. Lucas Hale stood behind her, holding two tickets. He wasn’t offering her a fortune or a dynasty. He was offering her “Triangle B”–attention, kindness, and sanity.
“I’m not doing it alone,” Sophie smiled, though her eyes were sad. “I’m choosing myself, Lucas. For the first time in six months.”
“And the Crofts?” Lucas asked, glancing at the headlines on the newsstand about the ‘Miracle at the Estate’.
“Let them haunt each other,” Sophie said. She took his hand, and together they stepped onto the train, leaving the “Croft chaos” behind as the doors hissed shut.