The road was long and empty.
The night carried no sound but the hum of the tires.
Liam sat in the back seat, his wrists still sore from the ropes.
The guards had let him go, just as Lucian ordered.
They gave him a car, a full tank, and silence.
He drove for hours without stopping.
The city lights faded behind him.
Ahead lay Cruz’s compound — a dark fortress on a hill, wrapped in stone and iron.
He had been there many times before, but tonight the place looked heavier, colder.
When he stopped at the gate, the guards recognized him.
One of them leaned down. “You look half-dead.”
Liam said, “I almost was.”
The guard opened the gate without another word.
Liam drove in and parked near the front steps.
The mansion towered above him, lit by golden lamps and guarded walls.
Inside, t
