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CHAPTER 53

last update 最終更新日: 2025-12-29 16:59:59

Althea woke before dawn again.

This time, there was no dream clinging to her skin. Only the tension in her body felt just as dangerous. Her pulse was too fast. Her thoughts were too loud.

She knew what this meant and that she needs to leave the apartment.

She sat up slowly, careful with her movements, as though the walls themselves might be listening. The city outside the tall windows was still quiet, washed in a gray-blue light that made everything feel suspended in time. This hour used to belong to them. She remembered mornings when Dominic would pull her back into bed, murmuring that the world could wait.

She shut the thought down immediately, shaking her head vehemently.

Her phone vibrated softly in her hand.

Michael.

Change of plans. His message came in a preview.

Her chest tightened before she even opened the entire message.

Change of plans. We can extract Jessica today. Medical air transfer. Clean. Covered under another patient’s relocation to the Devereaux complex.

Relief came
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