Chapter 4 — Lingering Ghosts

Sienna

The sun dipped lower, spilling streaks of amber light across the winding country road. Shadows stretched long over the fields, and the warm glow of the first fireflies blinked in the soft haze of evening. Sienna’s fingers tapped restless rhythms against the worn leather of the steering wheel, the gestures betraying her nerves. Outside, the landscape of her childhood unfurled—fields of wheat swaying lazily in the breeze, an old red barn half-hidden by towering oaks, and the occasional gravel driveway leading to homes that hadn’t changed in decades. But her eyes barely registered the view. Her mind was elsewhere, circling the same question over and over.