The grand hall of the Hamptons compound fell into a stunned, suffocating silence. Shattered glass crunched underfoot like brittle bones. Smoke curled lazily from spent bullet casings scattered across the marble floor. The air was thick with the sharp metallic scent of blood, gunpowder, and rain blowing in through the broken windows. Elena stood frozen behind the marble pillar, her heart hammering so violently she could feel it in her teeth and the base of her throat. Her wet clothes clung to her skin, cold and heavy, while the graze on her arm burned like fire with every shallow breath.
The woman on the upper balcony stepped forward into the golden light of the chandelier, elegant and commanding, her presence filling the massive room like a storm about to break. She looked exactly like a
