Chapter 39 The Crossroads

• The air was thick with tension as Amara leaned against the cold brick of the alley, her breath coming in sharp bursts as she fought to steady herself. The night had never felt so heavy. The neon glow of the city blurred around her, but it was the shadows that seemed to press in the hardest. Her heart thudded in her chest, each beat reverberating like a countdown.
• She had been here before—on the edge of something, teetering between choices she didn’t want to make. But this time, there was no turning back. No way to unsee what she had learned. No way to go back to the life she had before. The flash drive in her pocket, the one that held the secrets of her past, felt like it was burning through her jacket, its weight far too heavy to ignore. She wanted to toss it away, but she couldn’t. It was the only thing that could bring her closer to the truth.
• Damian was gone. For the moment, at least. She had felt his presence next to her like a shadow, something both comforting and dangerous. But now, she was alone. Alone with her thoughts and the gnawing realization that she was in deeper than she had ever imagined.