The tunnel fell into a suffocating silence.
Not the kind that brought peace.
The kind that came before something broke.
Lucien stood at the far end of the corridor, framed by flickering emergency lights and drifting smoke, as if he had stepped out of a memory Emily had spent her entire life trying to forget.
Except this time—
He was real.
And he wasn't leaving.
"Hello, little star."
The words echoed softly, almost gently, but they hit Emily like a storm.
Her chest tightened.
Her fingers curled slowly at her sides.
That name.
He used to call her that when she was small.
When she didn't understand the way he looked at her.
When she thought he was just another visitor.
Safe.
Kind.
Normal.
But now—
Now she knew better.
Alexander moved before she could even think.
He stepped directly in front of her, his presence blocking her from Lucien completely, his body tense with a quiet, controlled rage that made the air itself feel dangerous.
