Carl's POV
I sat in the dimly lit room, my mind a maelstrom of worry and dread. Zara, my pregnant wife, was in the clutches of M, and the thought of what she might be enduring was driving me to the brink of madness. The cold hands of despair gripped my heart, squeezing tighter with each passing moment. I could see her in my mind, trapped in some dark, dank place, alone and terrified. The uncertainty of her fate was a torment that I could scarcely endure.
As I sat there, lost in my thoughts, a knock on the door startled me. Maria walked in, her expression unusually serious. We had never been friends, and I knew she disliked me. That she was here now, offering to help, was nothing short of astonishing.
"Carl," she began, sitting down opposite me, "I've been thinking about how to save Zara
