Chapter :Just After the Fall

The sirens blared louder as red and blue lights washed over the broken pavement of the abandoned plant. Everything around me felt unreal—like I was floating outside my own body, watching the chaos unfold through a haze.

Wallace lay crumpled on the floor, blood seeping from his scalp where I’d struck him. Lucien’s arm was still wrapped protectively around me, his body tense, every muscle coiled as the police rushed in.

“Freeze! Hands where we can see them!”

Lucien slowly raised his hands, glancing down at me. “It’s over, Lila. Let them take it from here.”

I nodded, unable to form words.

Two officers darted...