THE NIGHT refused to let Lily sleep.
The compound settled into its usual nocturnal quiet, the kind that carried the illusion of safety. Low lights burned in the hallways. Guards shifted positions outside. Doors locked and relocked. The world kept breathing around her as if nothing had changed.
But Lily lay awake on her bed, staring at the ceiling, every thought sharp and restless.
The message replayed in her mind on an endless loop.
Come alone tomorrow. Or someone else gets hurt.
She turned onto her side, curling her fingers into the blanket. Fear pulsed through her, slow and heavy, but beneath it something else stirred. Resolve. A cold, steady awareness that she had reached the point where waiting was no longer an option.
She had spent too long running.
From her father’s death.
F
