The countdown would not stop.
47:58:12
47:58:11
47:58:10
The numbers glowed from every screen inside the operations room like a heartbeat.
A cruel one.
Each second felt louder than the last.
A reminder.
A threat.
A promise.
Susanna Croft had forty-eight hours.
Or less.
Nobody knew how literal Aaron Mercer was willing to be.
And that uncertainty was somehow worse.
The storm outside had begun to weaken, but inside the room the tension only grew heavier.
No one had left.
No one could.
Not after what they'd just learned.
Not after Aaron's final revelation.
Susanna was there twenty years ago.
Not one of the villains.
Not one of the architects.
Not one of the families hiding secrets.
She had tried to stop something.
Tried and failed.
And now someone had taken her because of it.
The realization sat heavily over everyone.
Especially Allison.
⸻
Clara
The first thing Allison noticed was the little girl.
