The footsteps didn’t rush. They didn’t need to. Slow. Measured. Certain. Like whoever was coming already knew there was nowhere to run.
Sophie’s pulse pounded as she instinctively moved closer behind Ethan. This time, she didn’t argue. Didn’t question. The shift in the air was enough.
This wasn't a strategy anymore. It is danger. Real. Immediate.
“How many of them did you make a deal with?” she whispered.
Ethan’s eyes scanned the corridor ahead. “More than one.”
“That helps,” she muttered under her breath.
Adrian let out a soft exhale. “Relax.”
Sophie shot him a look. “That’s your advice right now?”
“It’s not advice,” he said calmly. “It's an observation.”
“That makes no sense.”
“It will in a second.”
The footsteps stopped. Silence followed. Too quiet. Too still.
Then— A figure
