Collision at the Gates

The morning had barely stretched into full daylight when the mansion’s calm shattered under the violent pounding of fists against the front gates. The sound echoed across the estate, sharp, frantic, relentless like someone striking metal with desperation rather than strength. Ares, Tessa, and Julian were still in the living room, caught in the long, torturous silence following the news of the kidnapping. None of them had slept. Their clothes were wrinkled, their eyes ...