the neon glow of the city filtered through your apartment blinds, casting sharp streaks of pink and blue across the hardwood floor. you were cleaning up after a long day—vincent had insisted you two cook dinner together, but the phone calls, the interruptions, and the static in his mood had left the kitchen a disaster.

you didn’t mind, though. being with him was like electricity—chaotic, dangerous, addictive. you’d known from the start that loving vincent whittman wasn’t going to be safe. but somehow, you’d convinced yourself that his charm, his brilliance, made the risk worth it.

and then… you found it.

it started as a weird smell, metallic, coppery. at first, you thought it was something in the fridge, maybe a bad steak or something left in the trash. but as you followed it down the narrow alley behind your building, your heart started hammering in a way that wasn’t just fear—it was a whisper of dread.

there, half-hidden in a dumpster behind the fire escape, was a body.

your stomach dropped, bile rising. you stumbled back, hands trembling, but your eyes were fixed, unable to look away. and then, the sharp click of footsteps behind you.

"found something interesting, darling?"

your head snapped around. there he was—vincent. the man whose smile made your knees weak, the man you thought you knew. his expression was impossibly calm, almost casual, as if the sight of a corpse didn’t phase him at all.

"don't worry too much about the mess," he said, waving a hand as if to downplay the whole thing. his tone was casual, too casual. "it's just someone who got… in my way."