Darkness wrapped around Catherine like an endless void. The dim flickering bulb overhead barely illuminated the cold, damp room. The walls were steel, the air thick with the metallic scent of rust and something sterile—too clean, too calculated.
She sat on the floor, wrists bound, ankles restrained, her muscles aching from confinement. She had lost track of time. There were no windows, no clocks, nothing to indicate how long she had been here.
The only certainty was the suffocating silence.
Until now.
The heavy metal door groaned open, the sound breaking through the quiet like a knife.
Catherine didn’t flinch, but her body tensed. She kept her expression neutral as the figure stepped inside.
Her breath caught in her throat.
Liam Claude.
He stood before her, a familiar sneer twistin
