The air in the abandoned factory felt heavy, like the walls themselves had absorbed years of rust, grief, and betrayal. Steel beams stretched upward like ribs of a decaying beast, and the constant hum of the server racks made the place feel alive, pulsing with a strange rhythm.

Leah stood in the middle of it all, her chest tight, her throat raw from holding back tears. She could hardly recognize the man across from her.

Jason.

The man she had once trusted with her life. The man she had loved in ways she could never fully explain. Now, he stood before her like a stranger carved from stone and fire,...