Jack stood alone in the dark room of the safehouse, the glow of multiple monitors painting his sharp features in cold, flickering light. His jaw clenched as his eyes scanned the file that had just been decrypted—lines of information scrolling across the screen, each detail more valuable than the last.
Name: Aurora Maria Rodriguez
Date of Birth: June 8 2007
Current Age: 17
—Soon to be 18 in a matter of days.
His lips curled into a slow, calculating smile.
“That’s when the bond will intensify,” he whispered to himself, tapping his finger against the metal table in a rhythmic beat. “That’s when he can mark her.”
And that was something Jack could not allow.
He read on.
Mother: Deceased.
Car crash. Thunderstorm. Rory was only 12.
The file included a police report—Rory had begged her
