Selene turned to go, but the one called Guinevere panicked. "Don't go!" Her voice cracked as she dragged herself forward, scraping across the floor while the chain dug into her ankles. Selene stared, horrified. If she kept pulling like that, she'd snap her own leg. The warning from the higher-ups echoed in her mind. The old women here were not to be harmed under any circumstances. They had to be kept alive and fed until they died of old age, naturally and peacefully. Selene couldn't let anything happen to her. "Please, calm down, ma'am!" she said quickly. "You'll end up hurting yourself!" The chained woman lifted her head, tears and snot running down her face. "I'm not an old woman! I'm only twenty-three!" Then she turned toward the corner and shouted, "Selina, say something!" The two prisoners were none other than Guinevere and Selina. That morning, right after Selina had left Natalie's room and gone back to hers, Guinevere had nearly scared her to death. Selina had opened the door to find her best friend stretching on the bed, yawning as her long white hair tumbled over her shoulders. Selina froze and stumbled back, completely stunned. Guinevere's hair was snow-white. Earlier that morning, when Selina left, Guinevere had still been fast asleep. The air had been cold, and she'd hidden under her blanket, so Selina hadn't noticed anything strange. But now, seeing her sitting up with white hair spilling down her shoulders, she knew something was wrong. As she looked closer, she saw deep lines across Guinevere's face, her once-smooth skin loose and sagging. Guinevere's eyes widened as she looked back at her. "Selina! What happened to you?!" Her voice broke, and tears filled her eyes. "You've been so heartbroken over Anthony that your hair turned white overnight!" Selina didn't even react to her own hair. Her gaze locked on Guinevere, her hand trembling as she pointed at her. "Guinevere! You..." Guinevere followed her gaze and looked down. Her breath hitched when she saw the white strands draped over her own shoulder. What the hell was happening? She turned her head side to side, panic taking over as she realized her once-dark hair was now completely white. "What the hell is this?" she gasped. Guinevere was convinced she had to be dreaming. She grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled hard until a sharp sting burned across her scalp. She stared at the few white strands caught between her fingers, her voice trembling as she turned to Selina. "Selina, my hair ... what happened to my hair?" Selina's breath came fast and uneven. She nodded, her voice barely steady. "It's white." Guinevere's eyes widened in disbelief. "That's not possible! It can't be!" Panic took over. "I don't even like Anthony! Why would I end up like you, going gray overnight because of him?!" Her hands shot up again, clawing at her hair as if she could rip every white strand out by force. Selina rushed forward and caught her wrists. "Guinevere, stop! You'll hurt yourself!"Guinevere collapsed against her, sobbing into her shoulder. "Why is this happening? What's wrong with us?" Selina frowned and rubbed her back gently, trying to calm her down even as her own thoughts spun in chaos. "Someone did this to us." One person's hair turning white from grief could make sense. But both of them? No way. Guinevere and Anthony were only friends. No matter how close they were, she wouldn't age overnight because of him. And it wasn't just their hair. Their faces had changed too. Two women in their twenties couldn't possibly have skin this wrinkled. Guinevere's voice shook. "What could make us look like this?" Selina tried to think. "Poison? A drug? Or maybe..." Her eyes brightened suddenly. "Hypnosis?" No one aged overnight. It had to be some illusion, something tricking their minds. Guinevere's head snapped up, hope flickering in her voice. "Yes, that has to be it! We're hypnotized. What we're seeing isn't real. There's no way I've turned into some old woman!" Selina nodded, but then a thought hit her. "Wait. The couple upstairs saw my hair change too..." Guinevere's face darkened with fury. "They lied to you. They're the ones behind this!" She had always distrusted Natalie and thought she was controlling and secretive. With something this bizarre happening, it made sense to suspect her. But Selina wasn't convinced. "I don't think it's them. There's something wrong with this place. Maybe they're trapped in it too."Before she could say another word, the door burst open with a loud crack. Both women jumped and turned toward the noise. A familiar figure stood in the doorway. "Anthony?!" The sight froze them where they stood. Selina's heart pounded as she ran to him, clutching his arm and scanning his face in disbelief. "Anthony! You're alive?!" Snow clung to his shoulders as he gave a small nod. "Of course I am." Relief flooded through her, and tears streamed down her cheeks. She had mourned him and believed he was gone forever. But here he was—alive, breathing, and right in front of her.