Chapter 38 Thirty Eight

• The penthouse felt emptier than before, spacious, sleek, yet charged with absence. The city lights glinted on polished surfaces but provided no warmth.
• Sera stepped across the marble floor, bag slung low, senses on high alert. Maple followed atop barely silent socks. Dr. Marte lingered just behind them, eyes flicking to every control panel. Lucien closed the door with slow precision, as if sealing away more than cold air.
• > Lucien (quiet): “They searched everywhere else. I thought ”