The apartment still smelled faintly of smoke. No matter how many windows I opened, how many candles I lit, the acrid scent of burning silk clung to me like a shadow. It haunted the back of my throat, a bitter reminder of the red gown reduced to ash, of the lies it carried stitched into its lining.
And of the flash drive now sitting in the palm of my hand.
Small,Black,Inconspicuous. Yet heavy as if it carried the weight of entire empires inside it.
I turned it over between my fingers, its edges biting into my skin. It wasn’t just an object,it was a question,it was a demand.
The last secret I could no longer ignore.
Behind me, Valen’s presence filled the apartment like a storm waiting to break. His silence was louder than the ticking clock on the wall, his shadow stretching long across
