Elias’s POV

The room was too quiet.

Even with the hum of the ventilation system and the faint flicker of light from the digital clock, the silence pressed in like a weight. I sat on the edge of the bunk, elbows on my knees, staring at the metal floor until the numbers on the clock blurred.

22:47.

Ronan’s voice still echoed in my head.

“If you’re going to lie, do it better.”

It hadn’t been loud, but it hit harder than a punch. The kind of words that stayed, even after the ...