The ghost apartment held its breath for twenty-four hours. Mara existed in a state of suspended animation, caught between hope and a dread so profound it felt like a physical weight on her chest. She paced the sterile rooms, her mind a frantic reel of possibilities. Would Damon succeed? Would Elias be alive when they found him? What would Rafael do when he realized he’d been stripped bare?

The answer came not with a knock, but with the chime of the apartment’s secure tablet. A single, ...