Chapter 20
The Glass Palace was no longer a silent cathedral of wealth and secrecy. It was a screaming machine in the final stages of collapse. The high-pitched, rhythmic pulse of the Code Blue alarm from Konstantin’s private suite clashed violently with the grinding mechanical roar of the heavy security gates in Sector 4 forcing themselves open. Every sound echoed through the marble corridors like a warning bell for the end of an era.
I was no longer the nurse.
I was no longer the fugitive running on instinct and borrowed courage.
I was the ghost in the machine.
As I sprinted down the service stairwell toward the sub-levels, my boots pounding against concrete, I ripped off the Vitalis Care lab coat that had been my last disguise. It fluttered behind me for half a second before I let
