The silence that followed Marcus’s accusation did not merely linger.
It solidified.
It spread through the room like a sheet of black ice, freezing every breath and every movement beneath its crushing weight.
Lucien stood motionless beneath the harsh cone of the spotlight. The pale light carved sharp shadows across his face, turning his features into something cold and unreadable.
Nearby, Marcus hung from the chains, his body trembling from exhaustion and blood loss. Crimson droplets slid from his fingertips and struck the concrete floor one after another.
The sound echoed through the chamber like a countdown to someone’s death.
Marcus braced himself for the inevitable.
A denial.
An explosion of rage.
An order to put a bullet through his skull.
Instead, Lucien slowly turned his he
