The rain came down in cold sheets the night Grace received the envelope.
It had no name, no return address. Just a black wax seal, unbroken. Sitting on her desk like a final verdict.
She hesitated before opening it. Her fingers trembled, not from fear, but from instinct. Somewhere in her bones, she knew this wasn’t just another threat. This was different. Deeper. Personal.
Inside was a single photo.
Nathaniel.
Tied to a chair.
Bleeding from his temple.
Behind him, a wall marked with a sigil she hadn’t seen in years, the crest of the Veritas Order, a rogue faction excommunicated from the Council decades ago. They specialized in punishment. In extracting secrets. And in destroying everything their victims loved before the final blow.
Scrawled beneath the photo in blood-red ink:
“He
