“You guys shouldn’t have come here,” Meret said quietly.

Her voice wasn’t soft with fear anymore; it was hollow, detached. The tears and trembling were gone. What remained was rage—steady and cold.

Still, beneath it all, a dull ache lingered. The thought that her uncle might hurt them—her friends who had risked everything to find her—made her chest tighten. They had come to save her, but now they were trapped just like her.

Bruce looked at her, his jaw tense. He wanted to say ...