Act Three - The Angel’s Game — Chapter 10

After leaving the sanatorium, David wanders down Lovers’ Lane to a burned, doorless chapel. Overwhelmed by grief and helplessness, he prays despite his lack of faith and vows to take Cristina away that very night, even if it means burning the sanatorium. His resolve hardens into anger and determination.

Night falls as David returns to Villa San Antonio. He scales the wall, breaks a back door window, and moves through the corridors toward Cristina’s room. Inside, he finds frigid air, cut restraints, an open window, and bloody footprints on the tiles leading out into the garden.

Following the red trail over snow and into the park by the lake, David spots Cristina limping across the frozen surface, leaving a line of blood. He calls to her; she turns, smiles, and the ice beneath her spiders with cracks. David rushes onto the ice as it buckles, and he falls; Cristina remains still, encircled by widening fractures.

As David crawls closer, the ice beneath Cristina breaks and swallows her. When the gap seals, her body glides beneath the translucent sheet toward him. David smashes the ice with his hands until they are ruined, but he cannot reach her. Cristina, calm and smiling, presses her hand to the ice, whispers love, and sinks into darkness as her final breath escapes.