Valentina stood on the balcony of the Lockwood estate, the early morning breeze carrying the scent of pine and ash remnants of the previous night’s chaos. Below her, the estate was eerily quiet, too quiet for a house that had once pulsed with the constant rhythm of control and command. Now it held its breath, suspended in the aftermath of decisions that could not be undone.
Adrian joined her, his footsteps silent. He didn’t speak at first, only stood beside her and took in the horizon. He looked like a man who had finally laid down a burden, only to discover that freedom came with its own weight.
“They’re going to come for us,” Valentina said, her voice low but sure.
“They already have,” Adrian replied, “but they don’t know we’re ready.”
She turned to look at him. The bruises on his kn
