Lyra's POV
It started with the sound of the front gates.
That low mechanical grind that echoed through the estate like a beast waking up. The moment I heard it, I knew he was back. Leo. Returning from whatever blood-soaked errand he called a "meeting."
My whole body tensed.
Because I wasn’t ready to see him.
Not after what I’d just learned. Not after seeing his name next to my father’s in transaction records and surveillance logs. Not after finding a f*****g photo of them laughing like best friends, six months before my father was found dead in a twisted metal grave they still had the audacity to call an accident.
No.
I wasn’t ready.
But I also wasn’t hiding.
I stood in front of the mirror, robe knotted tight, flash drive in the pocket, hair loose and damp from a shower I took ju
