Page 137 of Seeking Shadows

I turn to Tristan. "By the way, have you seen Olga today?"

He blinks, confused. "Who?"

“Olga.” My tone comes out more impatient than I intended. “The woman who works here.”

Tristan frowns. "Mia, there’s no one by that name here."

My body goes cold.

"What?" I laugh, a little nervous. "Tristan, stop teasing."

But he’s not kidding.

He looks at me with the same seriousness as always. "There is no Olga in the mansion. There never was."

The sound of my heart beating starts to get too loud. Loud enough to swallow the world around me.

My throat dries. I try to laugh again, but the sound comes out forced, strange.

"Don’t joke like that, seriously."

He doesn’t answer.

My stomach churns. I look around, as if hoping to see some trace of her, some clue that confirms that "I’m not wrong."

But there is nothing. No sign that Olga “was ever here.”

My chest tightens so much that it hurts.

“That can’t be true.”

I close my eyes, trying to remember. I can see her face, I can remember her voice, the way she huffed every time I messed up.

But… the more I try to focus on the details, the more they start to slip through my fingers. Like ink dissolving in water.

My breath becomes short.

The hands shake a little.

My head feels heavy, like it’s falling apart from the inside out.

“No. No. This can’t be happening.”

“She was here. I talked to her. I remember. I remember. I—“

I feel Tristan move, but my vision is already blurry, distant. Like the world around me is melting away, and I’m falling into myself.

What’s happening to me?

My mind feels like a mess of noises, distant voices, and a frightening silence all at the same time.

I bite my lip hard, trying to hold on to anything that feels real.

But all that remains is an emptiness that grows inside me, consuming the certainties I had.

And for the first time in a long time, I can’t tell what’s true and what’s just my mind playing tricks on me.

I try to hold on to something, anything.

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