The escape no one expected
Every creak and murmur inside the safe house felt amplified by the unnatural calm that had settled over the night. The building, usually alive with the quiet hum of security systems and distant city noise, seemed to be holding its breath. Emilia knelt near the narrow window, one hand resting on the cool wall for balance, and peered down at the street below. Rainwater coated the asphalt in a slick sheen, turning passing headlights into trembling streaks of white and red. The storm had eased, but its presence lingered in the air, heavy and watchful.
Tonight, everything felt sharper. Every distant siren cut deeper into her nerves. Every shadow clung longer to the corners of her vision. The woman who had threatened her—who had assumed fear would make Emilia predic
