The warehouse district of Veridia was a graveyard of abandoned dreams.
Elara stood in the shadows of a crumbling building, her breath misting in the cold night air, watching the men who would change everything. They moved with practiced efficiency, unloading cargo from a shipping container that bore the Cross Industries logo. But this wasn't the humanitarian aid shipment Julian had spoken of. This was something else. Something darker.
Victor Kane stood at the center of it all, his bulk silhouetted against the harsh floodlights that illuminated the scene. He was barking orders, his voice carrying across the empty lot, and the men scrambled to obey. They were unloading people men, women, and children herding them into waiting vans like cattle.
Elara's stomach churned. She had seen the pho
