Mia and Claus slipped out of the safe house under the cloak of dawn, their steps brisk and purposeful. The city around them was already stirring, headlights slicing through the morning haze, distant horns echoing like muted warnings. Time was no longer their ally. Every second lost could mean Rick’s life. The hotel near the casino loomed ahead, elegant, glass-fronted, and deceptive in its calm.

They entered the lobby, greeted by the soft hum of jazz and the glimmer of chandeliers spilling ...