The penthouse was cloaked in an eerie silence, the kind that settled like a thick blanket in the dead of night. Evelina paced the length of the bedroom, her bare feet silent against the plush carpeting, her mind a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions.

Alden watched her from the bed, his brow furrowed with concern. "Come back to bed, my love," he murmured, his voice a mere rumble in the stillness.

Evelina paused mid-stride, her gaze flickering towards him. "I can't sleep," she admitted, her voice laced with a rare vulnerability. "Not with the threat hanging over us like a dark cloud."

Alden's expression hardened, his jaw clenching. "We've faced...