Chapter 88

EMILIA

The blood drains from my face so fast I feel dizzy.

A staff member rushes over, drawn by my scream, panic already flickering in his eyes. I’m still stumbling backwards, chest heaving, my pulse thundering in my ears.

“There’s a man,” I gasp, pointing toward the restroom, “in the women’s bathroom—he has a knife. A pocket knife—he—he was dressed like—”

I can’t even finish the sentence.

The staff member doesn’t wait. He bolts toward the bathroom, yelling something into his walkie-talkie. Everything else becomes a blur. A group of teenagers nearby are staring, wide-eyed. Someone grabs their friend’s arm and pulls them away. A siren begins to sound faintly in the distance—or maybe it’s just the ringing in my ears.

And then—

“Emilia!”

Liam.

He barrels through the crowd like a storm, eyes locked on mine—wild, frantic, like nothing else matters.

The second he reaches me, his hands are on my arms, grounding me, steadying me, l