The air inside the abandoned warehouse was thick with the scent of rusted iron and damp concrete, but to Chloe, it felt like an execution chamber. Her wrists were raw, the coarse hemp ropes biting deep into her skin every time she trembled. And she hadn't stopped trembling since Alexander had stepped into the light.
"I can prove it, Alex! I swear to God, I can prove it!" Chloe shrieked, her voice bouncing harshly off the high, corrugated ceilings. Her makeup was a ruined, smudged disaster of mascara and sweat. "But it’s not here! You have to let me go home. I have the proof at my apartment. I’m not a fool—I kept receipts!"
Alexander didn't move. He stood over her like a monolith of pure, unyielding dark ice, his jaw clamped so tight the bone looked ready to snap through his skin. His
