Chapter 78 078

• Later that night, they drove down to Parque Fantasma, a sprawling coastal park transformed for Halloween. Strings of orange lanterns crisscrossed between palm trees, casting dancing shadows on costumed figures. Skeletons dangled from branches, their bony fingers clicking in the breeze, while fog machines churned thick mist across cobblestone paths.
• Children darted through the haze dressed as sugar skulls and luchadores, their laughter rising above the distant thump of mariachi music. Chase stepped out of the car, his medieval villain costume swallowing the moonlight. He had on black leather boots, a tailored doublet, and a heavy velvet cape that swept the ground. The black, tiger striped half-mask dangled loose around his neck, revealing the curve of his smile as he lifted Vera into his arms.
• A tall, lanky caretaker named Mateo materialized from the crowd, his face painted like a calavera.