Chapter 66

• By the time they reached the mansion, the first faint streaks of dawn were painting the horizon. The searchlights had been switched off, the guards standing down now that Theo was safe.
• Danielle carried the sleeping boy upstairs, careful not to wake him. His little fingers were still curled loosely around the puppy’s scruffy fur. She eased him onto the bed, pulling the blankets over him. The puppy—already claimed by Theo—curled into the crook of his knees, tail flicking lazily.
• For a moment, she just stood there, watching the rise and fall of Theo’s small chest. Her mind replayed the night’s events like a relentless loop—her panic, the darkness, the sound of his frightened whimper.