Chapter 62 Midnight At Santa Anita

• ZOE
• Night had fallen like an iron cloak over Los Angeles. The empty streets seemed to absorb even the faintest whisper, and I walked with my senses on high alert, feeling that every shadow could be a threat. I gripped the number Dante had given me tightly, as if my skin could remember it better than my mind. It was absurd, because I didn’t know if I could trust him, or even myself. After all, who was I really? A broken woman or the file Ethan had implanted in my body? Doubt burned inside me, but there I was, walking toward an abandoned station, alone at night, drawn by a mix of fear, rage, and a yearning I didn’t even dare to name. Wearing damn stiletto heels and a formal gown I hadn’t had time to take off.
• When Dante appeared, emerging from the shadows like a ghost, I froze. His figure was strong, confident, imposing, yet there was a mixture of relief and pain in his eyes that disarmed me for a moment. He said nothing more than a simple: