The figure stepped completely out of the darkness, and my breath caught in my throat. It was my grandfather. He stood several feet away from us, his clothes dusty and torn, but he was alive. For a moment, I couldn't understand how that was possible. I had heard the gunshots. I had watched him walk toward the road before we entered the passage. I had assumed he had sacrificed himself to buy us time. Yet here he was, standing inside the chamber as though he had known exactly where we were going.My father moved in front of me instinctively. Adrian raised his weapon, but Amelia immediately placed a hand against his arm and told him not to shoot. My grandfather looked at all of us, then slowly removed the bloodstained jacket he was wearing. Beneath it, his shirt was torn across the shoulder, but the wound didn't appear serious. He said Victor's men had attacked him, but he had escaped through a secondary route. The gunshots had been deliberate. He wanted us to believe he had been killed
Last Updated : 2026-08-30 Read more