“MISS BROOK, we are pleased to inform you…”
Lily Brook stared at the glowing screen of her phone, the words blurring for a moment as her breath caught in her throat. She had opened the email three times already, half expecting it to disappear, half afraid it would change into something else if she blinked too long. But the words stayed. Bright. Real.
She sat on the edge of the worn leather couch in the main lounge of the compound, knees drawn slightly inward, shoulders tight with the weight of everything that had brought her to this moment. The fireplace crackled softly nearby, throwing amber light across the stone walls. Outside, the late afternoon sky was turning a hazy blue-gray, the kind that felt like a held breath before something changed.
Ronan stood near the bar, arms crossed ov
