The phone buzzed in my hand again. Same unknown number. The same threat that felt like ice water pouring down my spine.
You’ve made a grave mistake, Leila. And it’s one you’ll regret soon enough.
I stared at it, heart pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. Alexander had said earlier, We move fast. But how do you move when it feels like the ground is falling away beneath your feet? I felt like I was shrinking, like the fear was curling up from somewhere deep and trying to drag me under. But I was so tired of being afraid.
I looked over at Alexander. He’d been quiet ever since we left the conference room, shoulders tight, eyes stormy, his jaw locked in that way I’d learned to recognize when he was angry but scared, and trying not to show it. Everything about him seemed taller, sharper, harder, like he was building walls around himself just to keep from falling apart.
“What is it?” he asked. His voice was low, quieter than usual, but there was something hard in it too, a razor’s ed
