Ethan's eyes adjusted slowly to the dim light of the new cell, his gaze settling on a figure slumped in the corner. Layla. His heart raced as he took in her disheveled appearance, her once-luminous hair now dull and matted. Her eyes, sunken and haunted, locked onto his, and she trembled violently as if the mere sight of him had shattered her fragile composure.

Ethan's appearance was just as unkempt, his face gaunt, his clothes tattered and stained. The stench of confinement and despair hung ...