.
Lara woke before dawn with the taste of salt still on her lips.
She had cried herself to sleep after the wall s*x—quiet, ugly sobs muffled against Kai’s chest while he stroked her hair and whispered promises that felt thinner every time he repeated them. Now the room was gray with pre-morning light, the kind that makes everything look unfinished. Kai was gone from the bed, but she could hear the shower running. Normal. Domestic. Except nothing felt normal anymore.
She rolled over, reached for her phone on the nightstand—and froze.
A small cream envelope lay beside it.
No stamp. No address. Just her name in elegant black ink: Lara Adebayo.
Her fingers shook as she picked it up. The paper was thick, expensive, scented faintly with something metallic and sweet—like blood mixed with va
