"Why?" she whispered. "Why are you looking for Ruby? She's already dead… isn't she?"
The air thickened. Onyx halted mid-step and slowly turned her head.
The look she gave Mrs. Johns made Mr. Johns step in front of his wife, shielding her instinctively like a reflex.
"Shut up, he hissed. "Just shut up. You don't know what you're saying."
He turned to Onyx and bowed his head slightly. "I apologize… my wife is unreasonable."
Onyx didn't take her eyes off Mrs. Johns. "She's not dead," she said lowly, as if daring the world to contradict her. "I know my sister is alive. And I will find her."
Mrs. Johns went silent, the room echoing with her soft whimpers.
Without another word, Onyx stepped out of the cursed house, slamming the door behind her.
She walked back to her car, heart pounding with fury and grief, the stuffed toy still gripped tightly in her hand. Her mind was a flurry of questions and unraveling threads.
Isabelle had Echo.
Ruby was alive.
