{Elena pov}
The sound of the gunshot split the night.
I froze, breath caught in my throat, every nerve in my body going numb. The echo bounced through the estate walls like a scream that wouldn’t stop.
Then, chaos.
Men shouting. Footsteps pounding on marble. Another shot cracked the air, closer this time.
My legs moved before my brain caught up. I tore through the hedges, heart slamming against my ribs like it wanted out. I didn’t even know where I was going, just away. Away from the war exploding around me. Away from Nico.
From everything.
But even as I ran, a voice inside me whispered his name.
Nico.
He’d followed me into the garden. And tell me the truth, or at least, part of it. About the auction. About freeing the girls. About me.
And I listened. I had wanted to believe him.
