The following morning arrived, sweeping away the lingering shadows of the night before. Raine reached the university early, with Zane trailing not far behind.

“Where did you sleep?” she asked as he approached the faculty room.

“The living room,” he replied curtly.

“How was it?” she pressed.

Zane frowned, letting out a weary sigh. “Your little experiment didn’t help. If anything, it made things worse. I had to sleep with one eye open.” He paused, running a hand through his hair. “Luckily, exhaustion did the trick in the end.”

The entire day passed in silence between Raine and Zane, the busyness of their schedules and an unspoken tension keeping them apart. It wasn’t until dismissal that the stillness broke.

“You’ve got a shift at the hospital tonight?” Andrea asked, catching up to Zane with hurried steps. Raine was already walking ahead, keeping her distance.

“Yes,” Zane replied, his tone weary. “Another shift until midnight.”

“Are you sure you can manage it? You mentioned earlier that your head hurt—that’s why you went to the clinic to... refresh yourself,” Andrea said, concern etched across her face.

“I have to,” Zane replied, his voice firm. “It’s for the family.”

Andrea frowned slightly. “You’d better be careful,” she warned. “Tonight might be the big night.”

Zane’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?” he asked, but before Andrea could answer, a car screeched to a stop beside them as they reached the highway.

“Dia!” a man called out, rolling down the window.

“Right on time!” Andrea said with a smile, turning to Zane. “Zane, meet my fiancé, Harry dela Fuente.”

Zane’s heart stuttered at her words, the revelation catching him off guard.

“Pleasure to meet you,” Harry said warmly, his grin broad. He adjusted his glasses and gestured to the backseat. “Need a lift to the terminal? We’re heading that way.”

“Uhh…” Zane hesitated, glancing between the two.

“Oh, come on, Zane,” Andrea urged, taking his hand and pulling him gently toward the car. “It’s no trouble at all.” She opened the door, motioning for him to get in.

The black car rumbled to life, rolling smoothly down the road before pulling to a stop beside Raine.

“Hey there, Ms. Raine,” Harry greeted with a casual wave.

“Harry?” she asked, blinking in surprise.

“Hop in,” he offered.

Raine moved towards the backseat, only to notice Andrea and Zane already seated there. Without a word, she slid in beside Zane, and the car resumed its journey.

The road ahead stretched straight, leading both to Andrea’s home and the station where Zane and Raine would catch their ride. Yet, as they approached a junction with an option for a U-turn, the car unexpectedly began to veer.

“What’s going on?” Andrea asked, her brow lifting in curiosity.

“On second thought, I’ll take these two home first,” Harry replied casually, his hands steady on the wheel.

Andrea’s face lit up as she leaned forward, tapping his shoulder with enthusiasm. “A joy ride, then!” she exclaimed.

The car rolled on, silence settling over them save for the hum of the engine. Harry reached for a compact disc and slid it into the player, filling the air with a lively lofi track.

“I’ve actually been meaning to try the newly built tube station,” Raine murmured, her focus on her phone as she scrolled absentmindedly.

“Oh, right! The train station opens today,” Zane said, glancing at Andrea. “Is that what you meant by big night?”

Andrea simply smiled, offering no further explanation.

“So, Raine,” Harry said, clearing his throat as his eyes flicked to the rearview mirror. “How’s life?”

Andrea tilted her head in surprise. “You two know each other?”

“She was my classmate when we were doing our master’s,” Harry explained, a faint grin tugging at his lips. “One of the clever ones, I must say.”

“Funny you two never mentioned that before, huh?” Andrea said with a playful pout.

“Funny you never told me about him,” Zane muttered under his breath, barely loud enough for anyone to hear.

“So… big night, is it? I wonder what’s going to happen later,” Raine said. She shifted her attention back to Harry. “Anyway, how long have you two been together?”

“Four years,” Harry answered with a smile.

“That must explain why your fiancée knows about my other business,” Raine remarked, tilting her head slightly. “I assume you told her?”

“Wait, he knew about it?” Zane asked, his brow furrowing.

“I did,” Harry admitted, his tone earnest. “I still don’t know how to repay you for taking the case and bringing justice for my father.”

Raine shook her head, her voice calm. “I’ve told you countless times—it’s all fine. No repayment needed.”

Andrea leaned forward, her eyes bright with curiosity. “Well, I think we would like to know what happened, wouldn’t we, Zane?” she said, her voice taking on a childlike eagerness, as though asking for a treat.

“Five years ago, Raine proved to the detective inspector—whose name escapes me—that when my father’s three co-workers were killed, all within a month and at different locations, he was in an entirely different place. In Visayas, to be precise,” Harry explained. “She cleared my family’s name.”

“Yes, but only partially,” Raine said with a small smile.

“What do you mean by partially?” Andrea asked.

Raine glanced at Harry before answering. “I also uncovered that his father wasn’t in Cebu for a business trip as he claimed but because he was secretly involved with another woman.”

Harry gave an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his neck. “Let’s forget about that part already. Besides, my father has changed since then,” he said, his tone conciliatory. “That was one of the reasons I didn’t tell you about it, Dia. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s fine,” Andrea said with a soft smile. “At least your father has changed his ways.”

“Let’s hope so,” Zane muttered under his breath.

“Now, Raine,” Andrea continued, a teasing glint in her eye. “Are you sure you don’t want me to join your club?”

Raine’s voice dripped with sarcasm as she responded, “You know, if you really want to get involved, why not apply to the police force, too?”

“Dia, that’s actually an interesting idea,” Harry chimed in, clearly amused. “You could pull it off. What about you, Raine? You did join the force, right?”

“Civilian forensic analyst,” Raine corrected.

“Nice! Still a multitasker, then,” Harry remarked with a grin. “How do you manage it all?”

Raine shrugged. “I just go with the flow.”

After battling through the traffic of the afternoon rush and the long stretch of road ahead, they finally reached the street.

“Goodbye, see you tomorrow!” Andrea called, waving as the two stepped out of the car.

“Nice to meet you again, Ms. De Verra!” Harry added with a polite nod, giving Raine a friendly smile.

With a swift farewell, Harry and Andrea disappeared into the throng, their car blending into the bustling street.

“Big night,” Raine muttered as she and Zane hurried up the stairs. “What do you think she meant by that?”

“I thought it was about the first train station here in Nueva Aurora finally opening,” Zane replied, his tone uncertain.

Raine shook her head. “The lady’s obsessed with joining the team. She might be hinting at something else entirely.”

“What do you mean by something else?” Zane asked.

Raine paused as she reached their flat, her hand resting on the doorknob. “Forget it,” she said dismissively. “Let’s just head inside and grab something to eat.”

They stepped into the flat, Raine heading to her room to change while Zane wandered around, his eyes scanning every corner. He couldn’t shake the feeling that whoever had tried to attack him last night might still be lurking.

Before long, the aroma of pancit canton filled the air. Raine set the dish on the table and served herself a portion. “Mr. Nuñez, eat up!” she called.

“It’s not another experiment, is it?” Zane called from his bedroom as he crouched to peer under the bed.

“No, it’s not,” Raine replied, rolling her eyes as she took her seat at the table. “I cooked this because I’m hungry. If you don’t want it, I’ll gladly finish it all myself.”

“Go on, then,” he muttered, his search continuing.

“There are no monsters, alright?” she said with a smirk, twirling a forkful of sweet and spicy noodles before taking her first bite.

Zane straightened and walked over to face her, his expression serious. “How can you be so sure? You saw it yourself,” he said firmly. “Are you seriously still skeptical?”

“I did see something,” Raine replied. “But I can’t claim it’s real without clear evidence.”

“Isn’t seeing it evidence enough?”

“I only saw a shadowy figure,” she countered. “And at the time, I was reading your book before we left for the province. The information in it pointed to a manananggal—the same creature I might have seen.”

Zane froze, the haunting images of what he’d seen the previous night in the province flooding back to his mind.

“Eat here. You wouldn’t want to be the weak prey those evil creatures you believe in are after, right?” Raine said lightly, coaxing him.

Reluctantly, Zane grabbed a fork and a plate, serving himself before sitting down beside her.

“I’m not sick,” he muttered, though his thoughts drifted to his current condition—one of the reasons he suspected the supposed aswang had targeted him.

“While you were talking with Andrea earlier, I overheard her mention the serial killer,” Raine began. “I looked into it—Juan Severino Mallari. Turns out, she was right.”

Zane glanced at her, curious. “Right about what?”

“The Filipino serial killer. After that, I heard that she mentioned a shapeshifter,” Raine said.

“She did?” Zane asked, the details of his conversation with Andrea slipping further from his grasp without him realizing.

Raine sighed. “Honestly, without that earpiece, you’d be absolutely useless on secret missions,” she remarked, closing her eyes.

“Are you sleeping—”

“Shut up! I’m trying to recall it!” she snapped, eyes remaining firmly shut.

Zane smirked, twirling his fork into the noodles. “You could just play the recording, couldn’t you?”

“But this sharpens my mind,” Raine replied with a touch of impatience. “I’ll rely on the recorder later, but right now, I want to use my brain first. Now, kindly shut up.”

For a moment, their earlier conversation played back in Raine’s mind like an automated text-to-speech machine. The fragmented words slowly pieced together, and after a pause, she opened her eyes.

“Found anything? Or should I grab your phone?” Zane teased, glancing up from his plate.

Raine ignored his remark. “Amara Turner believed in supernatural beings. She said she was cursed,” Raine began, her voice steady. “She mentioned a witchcraft shapeshifter to Andrea—possibly to Mrs. Betty and Andrea’s student, Molly, as well.”

Zane raised an eyebrow, his interest piqued.

“She believed that shapeshifter could morph into someone’s worst nightmare,” Raine continued. “If what Andrea said is true, it may have hunted Amara, threatening her to stop… whatever it was she’d uncovered.”

Zane’s thoughts churned as fragments of his memory began to resurface. “Do you think the killings started with her, or was she the last victim? Could she even have been the killer herself?” he asked.

Raine shook her head, her tone growing more fervent. “I doubt it began with her. She might’ve been researching the recent serial murders and uncovered something... something that got her killed!”

Zane’s eyes widened as another memory surfaced, sharp and vivid. “When I was... when I was heading home after my first shift at the hospital,” he began hesitantly, “I saw a message written in blood in the bathroom—Stay Away.”

Raine stilled, her fork halfway to her mouth.

“It wasn’t there when I entered,” Zane continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. “But when I was about to leave, it appeared. There wasn’t anyone else there, Raine. I think… I think it was meant for me.”

"At the hospital?" Raine asked, narrowing her eyes.

"Yes, but before that, a creepy red letter arrived at our building," Zane replied. "It had a Baybayin symbol for the number six. There are already five victims of the serial killer, so the six could mean there’ll be another."

“What are you implying? That you will be the sixth victim?” Raine asked, her tone skeptical as she took another bite of noodles.

“Well…” Zane hesitated, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

“Have you forgotten that the Suarezes also received a red letter two days ago?” Raine reminded him. “The single red rose petal inside symbolizes death. Doesn’t that suggest the sixth victim will come from their family?”

“But there was this symbol on—” Zane began, but Raine cut him off.

Raine interrupted, her voice cutting through the tension. “Isn’t it a coincidence we showed up just as they received that letter?”

Zane frowned, pausing. “So, you think they will be the sixth victim? That we were sent by the killer? Why? Why target us?” He stopped, a thought jolting him upright. “Do you think they're playing with us?”

“Could be,” Raine replied, the spoon clattering lightly on her plate.

The image of the waitress from the previous night resurfaced in Zane’s mind, her presence unsettling, echoing the same aura as the pink lady he had encountered. “Do you think this killer knows us? Are they watching us?” he asked, his voice laced with growing unease.

Raine met his gaze, swallowing, her face hardening with focus. She fell silent, her eyes fixed on Zane as he finished his meal, a tense stillness enveloping the room.

“What’s going on? Are you— Are you alright?” Zane asked, but there was no reply. He frowned. “Alright, you’re starting to creep me out.”

Raine stood up slowly, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Zane watched her, confusion flickering in his eyes.

“Mr. Nuñez, you’re a genius!” she said brightly.

“What do you mean?” Zane asked, his brows furrowed in confusion.

“Thanks to your string of questions, we’ve just come up with a new hypothesis,” Raine replied.

“Okay,” Zane said slowly, still trying to catch up. “That’s… great.”

“We need to keep an eye on everyone around us,” Raine continued, her tone sharpening. “Like you said, the killer might be playing a game with us—quite the brilliant last case.”

“Last case?” Zane repeated, the words echoing in his mind. “Are you retiring?”

“Last doesn’t always mean the end, Mr. Nuñez,” Raine replied.

“Well, thanks for the merienda,” Zane said, standing up. “I’ve got to head off to my second job. If anything unusual happens here, you can always go to my auntie’s and stay with her. On Sunday, perhaps we should have a priest bless this place—”

His words were interrupted by a sudden headache, forcing him to sit back down as he rubbed his right temple.

“Are you sure you're alright?” Raine asked, her eyes narrowing with concern.

“Y— Yeah, I'm... I'm fine,” Zane replied, brushing it off with a half-hearted shrug. He stood up and headed towards the bathroom, brushing his teeth in silence. A few minutes later, he grabbed his backpack, ready to leave. But before he could reach the door, Raine’s voice stopped him.

“Zane…” she said. Raine watched him, a flicker of concern in her eyes. “You are acting strangely lately, Mr. Nuñez. Are you sure you’re physically alright?”

Zane gave a strained smile, the corners of his lips stiff. “I always act strange, Raine. Surprised you’re still not used to it,” he replied, his voice edged with a hint of humour that didn’t quite reach his eyes.

With that, he turned and stepped outside, closing the door quietly behind him.

The moment the door clicked shut, his smile faded, replaced by a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry I can’t tell you, Raine,” he murmured, his voice barely a whisper as he walked down the hallway. “I don’t want anyone to worry about me. I need to make these last days count—help my family, do right by the people I care about.”