The blinding rain whipped across my face the exact second I stepped past the heavy steel shutters. The luxurious, stifling heat of the gilded cage was violently ripped away, instantly replaced by the biting, unforgiving October storm.
I stood shivering on the edge of the third-floor balcony, my hands tightly gripping the freezing, slick glass railing. The burner phone lay dead on the plush cream carpet behind me, an abandoned piece of plastic that had just detonated my entire world.
Thirty seconds.
The distorted voice echoed mockingly in my head. Below me, the sprawling estate was completely engulfed in chaotic darkness. The piercing beams of tactical flashlights cut erratically through the torrential downpour. I could faintly hear the terrifying, muffled shouts of Valerius's guards coo
