The blackout swallowed everything.
One moment Elena was standing between Damian and Lucas, and the next, the world plunged into darkness—thick, suffocating, absolute.
A hand had grabbed her wrist, dragging her away, but the sudden flicker of emergency backup lights gave her just enough clarity to yank free. She stumbled backward, heart racing.
“Damian?” she whispered.
No answer.
“Lucas?”
Nothing.
The hallway stood empty.
A chill rippled through her.
Someone else had been there.
Someone neither man expected.
Panic clawed up her throat as she pushed through the apartment, searching rooms one by one. Her pulse thundered with every step.
“Damian?” Her voice cracked. “Where are you?”
Silence.
And then—a faint glow.
From his office.
A single sliver of light spilled under the heav
