Emily's eyes fluttered open to darkness. A sharp ache pulsed at the back of her skull, a painful reminder of how she had ended up here. The scent of damp stone and old wood filled her nostrils, and as her vision adjusted, she realized she was inside a dimly lit room—cold, isolated, and eerily silent.
Her wrists ached. Ropes bound her hands behind the chair she sat in, tight but not impossible. She took a slow breath, willing herself to remain calm. Panicking wouldn't help.
Outside the door, she heard footsteps—two men talking in hushed voices. She strained to listen.
"Boss says Julian will come for her," one of them muttered. "And when he does, he’ll be walking straight into our trap."
Emily’s pulse quickened. So this was Edmund’s plan—use her as bait.
The other man chuckled. "She doe
