The heavy tires of the black SUV crunched over the gravel as Elara slammed on the brakes just inches from the estate’s main gate. Her heart was a frantic bird trapped in her chest, beating against her ribs with a violence that made her vision blur. She stared at the iron bars of the gate, waiting for them to slide open, waiting for the freedom she had just risked everything to find.
But the gate didn't move.
"Open the gate!" Elara shouted at the intercom, her voice cracking. She pressed the rose gold ring against the scanner again, desperate for the beep that would signal her escape. "I have authorization! Open it now!"
"I’m afraid authorization has been restricted, Elara."
The voice didn't come from the intercom. It came from the darkness beside her window. Elara gasped, spinning arou
