The suffocating silence that followed Isla's abduction was heavier than any scream could have been, wrapping around Elias and Mara like a thick fog.

Elias stood frozen in the dimly lit hallway of the villa, his gun hanging limply at his side, its cold metal reflecting the stark reality of their failure. Mara's gaze traced the tense line of his back, the rigid set of his shoulders betraying the profound disappointment that gripped him. His mission had been to hold the line for Isla, to protect ...