Lucy sagged against the hedge, shaking from the release of terror. Her knees threatened to give way, but she swallowed hard and forced herself forward. The garden opened ahead of her, wide, moonlit, terrifyingly empty.No cover. No shadows to hide in. Only open lawn stretching to the outer walls.If she ran across, they would see her.UnlessHer eyes darted to the left, catching the faint glimmer of a narrow path winding through a dense cluster of trees. Half-forgotten, overgrown, it twisted toward the estate’s shadowed edge longer, riskier, but hidden.Her choice wasn’t really a choice.Lucy slipped into the trees.At first, it was only silence, thick, watchful. Then came the sound that made her blood run cold.A metallic clink.The rattle of a chain.Followed by a growl, low, guttural, rumbling through the ground beneath her feet.Her breath hitched.The Valerio dogs.Vince kept them along the estate’s edge, brutal, half-starved beasts trained to rip apart intruders. She had for
Last Updated : 2025-10-22 Read more