Chapter 5

Before sunrise, Evie wakes hollow and restless, slipping out without disturbing Lyssa. She pauses at a window, lost in thought, when Marv approaches with a heavy donation crate—an effort Lyssa organized for the less fortunate. Evie suggests storing it nearby, but when she tries to lift the box, it drops and spills a small toolbox, a hammer, a screwdriver, and shiny screws.

The sight of the screws triggers Evie’s memory of the earlier roof collapse with inexplicably intact hardware. A creak above warns too late: an air vent cover plummets. Marv yanks Evie to the floor and shields her as the metal crashes down, right outside Trystan’s door.

Startled and disheveled, Trystan appears and bristles at finding Marv atop Evie, then helps Evie up. Evie defends Marv, who points out the suspicious screws, suggesting the vent was deliberately tampered with. Evie and Trystan both realize the target could have been either of them.

Trystan demands to know the tools’ owner. Marv says the crate sat overnight in the office for discards and can’t identify who contributed the toolbox, offering to assemble workers for questioning. Trystan declines, asserting he will find the answers himself.

When Evie offers to help, Trystan shuts her down with a firm “No. You can’t.” The exchange underscores his protective secrecy and their growing distance, even as the pattern of staged accidents points toward an internal saboteur operating within Massacre Manor.