Cassian’s POV

Dawn was just breaking when we pulled into the drive. The mansion loomed ahead, black stone rimmed in the pale wash of morning light.

Usually, I felt the pulse of it before I saw it, the hum of radios, the crunch of boots on gravel, the subtle alertness of men who knew their jobs.

But this morning there was nothing.

No guards at the gate. No voices on the comm. Just silence, heavy and wrong.

Rubio stiffened beside me in the car.

“Something’s off.”

I was already reaching for the pistol at my side.

“Inside. Now.”

The front door swung open too easily. My boots echoed against marble...