Chapter 10: The Fracture
Elsie’s POV
The next morning arrived with a blinding, hot sun that baked the compound walls. Inside the suite, the air felt thick and pressurized, like the moments right before a thunderstorm. The brothers were completely silent, but it wasn't a peaceful quiet. It was the silence of three hunters tracking a scent.
My chest ache had settled into a constant, dull throb. I ignored it. I had to.
By mid-afternoon, the clubhouse downstairs fell into its usual heavy lull. From my position on the floor, hidden in the narrow gap beside the mattress, I could hear the faint, muffled sound of a television commercial playing in the living room. Collin was out there, but he was distracted.
I gripped the screw, my palm stinging where the metal had cut into me the night befor
