Chapter 67 – Alliance of Wives
**** Isabelle’s POV ****
The air in the backroom was thick with smoke—cheap cigars, burnt incense, and the stale tang of whiskey clinging to the walls like old grudges. The single bulb hanging above the round table flickered occasionally, casting shadows across faces that had known too much loss.
I sat near the far end, my hands folded in my lap, though I could feel every pair of eyes on me. Some were curious, others skeptical, and a few were outright hostile. In this world, trust wasn’t given—it was bartered, bought, or stolen.
The woman across from me took a long drag from her cigarette and blew the smoke in a slow ribbon toward the ceiling. Her name was Liana, the unofficial gatekeeper of this underground circle. She had the kind of beauty that survive
