The car glided through the city under a cold October sky, its tinted windows reflecting fragments of neon and rain. Aria sat still, her hands clasped in her lap. Every turn brought her closer to Ethan’s private estate and to the man who once promised her the world, now holding her mother’s life as ransom.

The driver said nothing. The silence was suffocating.

When the iron gates opened, Aria caught her breath. Ethan’s mansion loomed like a cathedral of wealthy glass, marble, and silence. ...