The morning sun had barely crested the horizon when a sharp, rhythmic knocking disrupted the uneasy sleep Elena had managed to find. She bolted upright on the charcoal silk sheets, her heart immediately hammering. For a split second, she didn’t recognize the palatial master suite, but then the sight of the heavily taped cardboard box resting on the far armchair brought the terrifying reality crashing back.
She had hidden the defaced photograph inside the box, terrified to confront Alexander about it so early, but the chill of those scratched-out eyes still lingered in her bones.
Before she could smooth down her rumpled clothing, the double doors to her suite swept open. A brigade of nearly a dozen people moved into the room with military precision. Leading them was a tall, sharply dresse
