I do not move when Damian reads the message. I barely breathe. The words coil through the room like smoke that refuses to disperse. The quiet between us turns sharp, stretched so tight I feel it against my skin.
“You are running out of time.”
I already feel the ground slipping. Damian seems to feel it too. The warning lights of the penthouse security system blink faintly overhead, casting red glimmers along the marble. His face is unreadable, but the tension pulsing through his arms is unmistakable.
Then the alert chimes again.
A second file. Audio.
Damian stares at the device as if it has become something alive and venomous.
“Play it,” I say, before fear can stop me.
He hesitates. Only a second. Then he taps the screen.
A burst of static fills the room. The sound alone makes my pu
