No More Tears - EDITING NOW!

The Florida sun beat down, but Averia felt a familiar chill creep over her. Six months. Six months since Scarlett, her sister, her anchor, was gone. Murdered. And the police, in their infinite wisdom, seemed content to pin it on Tom, Scarlett's grieving husband. Averia, however, harbored a cold, hard suspicion that burrowed deep into her bones.

Today, she'd faced the endless questions again, reliving the last night she saw Scarlett. It was a brutal extraction of pain, leaving her raw and exhausted. But now, it was done. A temporary reprieve.

Her friend Harley had promised escape, a week at a lavish spa resort in Florida with his band, Black Absence. A place where Scarlett’s record label contacts mingled, and perhaps, more crucially, where Tom's friend, Craig, was rumored to be.

Stepping out of the bus, the humid air clung to her, a stark contrast to the sterile air of the police station. The River Valley Spa & Hotel loomed, a monument to luxury, its grand gates opening to a world of manicured perfection. Harley, ever the exuberant one, scooped her into a hug, his usual cheer a stark counterpoint to her internal turmoil.

“Hey,” he grinned, “Stupid question, but how are you?”

Averia managed a weak smile. “I guess I’m okay. Just… the statement meeting yesterday kinda bummed me out.”

She tried to sound convincing, but the truth was, she was anything but okay. The hotel, with all its grandeur, felt less like a sanctuary and more like a gilded cage, holding a fresh set of anxieties she couldn't yet name. But she was here now. And maybe, just maybe, this escape would offer more than just relaxation. Perhaps it would offer answers.