The mirrored elevator plummeted toward the dark parking garage, the digital floor numbers flashing past in a frantic, blinding blur of neon red. With every descending floor, the mechanical hum of the cables seemed to mock the rapid, uneven rhythm of my own pulse. My chest rose and fell in frantic, shallow gasps as the small, enclosed space suddenly felt entirely devoid of oxygen. The cold ghost of Xavier’s touch still lingered on my wrist, a phantom burn marking the exact spot where his heavy fingers had clamped down before he ruthlessly shoved me toward the elevator doors.
Run before I decide to hand you over to them myself.
The brutal words replayed in my mind like a physical blade, twisting deeper into my chest with every passing second until it felt like a visceral wound. He didn'
