Brian’s POV
I didn’t go straight home after leaving the prison.
I drove.
No destination. No map.
Just the hum of the engine and the weight of Kaia’s voice echoing in my head.
“Get me out… or I ruin everything you’ve worked for.”
My knuckles tightened around the steering wheel as the sky outside shifted from pale afternoon to slow-burning dusk. Red light bled across the windshield like a warning, and still, I didn’t stop.
I couldn’t.
Because if I went home… I might have to face Isabelle.
And I wasn’t ready to look her in the eye.
Not yet.
Maybe not ever.
⸻
I pulled into an empty overlook just outside the city, killing the engine and sitting in silence. The skyline glittered below—familiar, beautiful, and utterly indifferent.
Kaia knew.
Of course she did.
She’d always been da
