Prologue– Shattered Light

The car was crushed metal and broken glass.Smoke hung thick in the air, burning Evelyn's throat as she ran toward it, her feet sinking into wet asphalt. The headlights flickered weakly, casting shadows that twisted and crawled across the road like living things. Rain poured from the sky, heavy and relentless, washing streaks of red along the ground."No… no… no…"Her voice came out broken, swallowed by the sound of rain and distant sirens that never seemed to arrive.She reached the car.The doors were caved in. The windshield was shattered completely, glass scattered like frozen tears. Inside, her father sat slumped over the steering wheel, his hands still gripping it as if he had tried, to the very end, to save them."Dad…" Evelyn whispered.Her legs gave way, but she forced herself upright. Panic clawed at her chest as she looked into the back seat.Her brothers.Both of them.Still. Too still.Blood streaked down the side of the car, mixing with rainwater, disappearing into the darkness of the road. Their faces were peaceful in the most terrifying way, eyes closed, mouths slightly open, as though they had fallen asleep and forgotten to wake up."No… please…" Evelyn sobbed, beating her fists weakly against the dented metal. "Please wake up. Please. We're going home. Mom is waiting."Her father lifted his head slowly.Her heart leapt.But the relief shattered instantly.His eyes glowed softly, not with life, but with something else. Something distant. Something final.Behind him, her brothers stirred. They rose, not with bodies, but with light, stepping out of the wreckage as though the broken metal no longer mattered. Their forms shimmered, translucent, untouched by blood or pain.Evelyn gasped."Wait," she cried. "Wait, please!"They didn't run. They floated, rising slowly, gently, like leaves caught in a quiet wind."No! Don't go!" Evelyn screamed, chasing after them as her feet slipped on the road. "Please don't leave me! I can't do this alone!"They turned.All three of them.Tears streamed down their faces just like hers.Her youngest brother waved at her, his smile trembling. The other reached for her but his hand passed through her arm, cold and weightless.Her father stepped forward."My princess," he said softly.Evelyn collapsed to her knees. "Daddy, please don't go. I'll miss you. I'll miss you so much."He knelt in front of her, his presence warm and aching all at once."Stay strong for your mom," he said, his voice breaking. "This world is not kind. Protect her. Do everything you can to shield her from its cruelty."She shook her head violently. "I don't want to. I just want you. I want us back. I want to hear you call me princess every morning."His smile trembled."I will guide you," he said. "Me and your brothers. We won't leave you alone. Even when you can't see us, we will be there."Her brothers nodded beside him, tears falling like drops of light."We love you," they whispered together.Evelyn screamed as they began to fade."Dad!" she cried. "Don't go! Please!"He lifted his hand in a final wave."I'm proud of you."The world shattered.Evelyn bolted upright with a scream.Her chest heaved violently as she gasped for air, her body drenched in sweat, her heart pounding as though it wanted to tear free from her ribs. Tears streamed down her face before she even understood where she was.Her room.Dark. Silent.Empty.She pressed a trembling hand to her mouth, choking back a sob as the images refused to leave her mind. The twisted metal. The blood. Their faces. Their voices."It was just a dream," she whispered desperately.But her hands shook as if her hands remembered the rain.She curled into herself, pulling her knees to her chest as her sobs finally broke free, raw and uncontrollable. The reality she had been avoiding came crashing down again.They were really gone.Her father.Her brothers.She whispered into the darkness, her voice cracked and fragile."Dad… I will really miss you."Her tears soaked the pillow as the dream replayed itself again and again, each time carving something deeper into her chest.And beneath the grief, beneath the pain, something else stirred.A question.A knowing.That accident hadn't just taken her family.It had stolen the truth.And Evelyn Hart would not rest until she found it.