Chapter 57 – Fractures and Flames
The air in the safehouse was thick with silence, the kind that felt too loud. Sophie sat at the edge of the bed, clutching the burnished locket Adrian had given her days ago—a reminder of everything they’d shared and everything they might still lose.
Adrian hadn’t spoken since the phone call.
“Sophie,” he finally said, his voice low and hoarse, “my father isn’t just missing. He was taken by someone from inside our own circle.”
Her heart dropped. “What do you mean? Like a betrayal?”
“Yes. A planned one.” Adrian leaned against the wall, his arms crossed but his posture frayed with tension. “Someone who knew our moves, our safe codes, our blind spots.”
“Do you know who it is?”
“I have two names. And one of them…” He hesitated. “Is Gerald.”
Sophie froz
