"Minister Vance orders Meira to hand over Bisma or face complete destruction alongside him."
"You have exactly ten seconds to decide whether you stand with your family and the state, or whether you choose to share the miserable fate of a hunted criminal," Minister Vance stated coldly, his piercing eyes locked onto Meira with unrelenting severity.
The heavy atmosphere inside the private dining room grew suffocating as the two armed state security guards shifted their weight near the door, their hands resting ominously close to their holstered sidearms.
Meira felt the color drain entirely from her face, her chest tightening as the terrifying reality of her father's ultimatum settled over her consciousness like a lead weight.
She stood frozen on the polished oak floorboards, the warm
