Flora’s wrists burned where the cold metal chains bit into her skin, and her muscles ached from hours of struggling. The prison cell was damp and dimly lit, with lanterns flickering against the hard concrete walls. Shadows played tricks on her eyes, but there was no escape—no way out. Her mind raced. Fiore... She clung to the image of her daughter, her last hope. If she died here, Fiore would grow up without a mother. The thought crushed her, but she couldn’t let herself surrender, not yet.
The faint creak of the door sent a jolt of panic through her. Reginald. His silhouette loomed just outside the cell, his presence a suffocating reminder of the threat that hovered over her and her daughter. Flora steeled herself, trying to suppress the rising tide of fear.
“You’re awake,” his voice wa
