CHAPTER 35: THE RECONCILIATION
Noel arrived at The Last Ridge in the dead of night, guided by the precise coordinates Ariel had set up years ago. He abandoned the battered truck miles down the dirt road, continuing the final approach on foot, moving like a shadow through the rough, uneven terrain. He was exhausted, unshaven, and emotionally stripped bare—a far cry from the Iron CEO. Ariel saw him first. She was watching the perimeter cameras—a network of disguised, thermal-enabled feeds—when she saw the faint, tell-tale heat signature moving with professional stealth toward the cabin. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a mixture of stark terror and impossible relief. The Hounds, or the King? She grabbed the rifle Betty’s late husband had left—a necessary defense in the high desert—and moved silently to the main
- Writer
