Kieran's POV
Kieran had been back in Oakwood for twelve hours.
He'd left the Peninsula Hotel Friday night. Walked out without looking back. The USB drive still sitting on the table where Astrid left it.
*He didn't take the drive.*
He'd spent the flight home thinking about Astrid's perfectly calibrated performance. About the way she'd pushed the drive toward him with words designed to tempt: *Keep Mira trapped... bound to you by laws she doesn't even know exist.*
It had felt wrong from the start. Too convenient. Too perfectly aligned with his desperation.
This morning, he'd made three calls to pack law historians. Searched the Council archives remotely. And confirmed what his instincts had already told him: the "forced marriage provisions" Astrid referenced were real — b
