Chapter 23: Counterattack Crackers.

Vincent Virenson .

The day started like any other—except it didn’t.

I was sipping my first cup of black coffee, the bitter taste scraping against my tongue, when my phone buzzed. The name flashing across the screen made my stomach seize: Rudolpho.

I froze. Rudolpho—the man who had always worn a smile as sharp as a dagger—was never a bearer of good news. I knew that, yet somehow, I still allowed myself to hope this time might be different. Foolish, ...