After a long terrifying day,Ari finally stumbled into her apartment. She didn't turn on the lights, letting the street lamps cast weak patterns on the floor. In the kitchen, she reached deep into the fridge for a cold can of hard cider, needing something stronger. Once she grabbed the drink,she returned to the living room and sank onto the floor, she opened the can, the hiss loud in the silence. As she took a burning gulp, the liquid settled her nausea but did nothing for the cold dread. Fueled by a need to understand the monster she'd fallen for, she opened her laptop and typed Xavier Stewart into the search bar. The results were a sterile monument to corporate success, with nothing about his second lifestyle. “He really did so well to erase the information about himself from the internet” she mumbled to herself as she stretched. Then she tried again, typing Alessia, his late wife. The search yielded hundreds of results and she was ready to check them all, but one profile ima

After a long terrifying day,Ari finally stumbled into her apartment. She didn't turn on the lights, letting the street lamps cast weak patterns on the floor. In the kitchen, she reached deep into the fridge for a cold can of hard cider, needing something stronger. Once she grabbed the drink,she returned to the living room and sank onto the floor, she opened the can, the hiss loud in the silence. As she took a burning gulp, the liquid settled her nausea but did nothing for the cold dread. Fueled by a need to understand the monster she'd fallen for, she opened her laptop and typed Xavier Stewart into the search bar. The results were a sterile monument to corporate success, with nothing about his second lifestyle. “He really did so well to erase the information about himself from the internet” she mumbled to herself as she stretched. Then she tried again, typing Alessia, his late wife. The search yielded hundreds of results and she was ready to check them all, but one profile ima

"Fast ropes! Now!" Xavier’s voice tore through the comms. He didn't wait for the chopper to level out. He gripped the rope, his gloves smoking from the friction as he descended like a falling star into the heart of the chaos. He hit the corrugated roof with a bone-jarring thud, unclipped, and was up in a crouch before the dust had even settled. Around him, his team landed. "Peter, give me the layout!" Xavier barked into his headset, his rifle tucked tight against his shoulder. "The thermal signatures are concentrated in the basement level—the old cold storage," Peter’s voice crackled, steadier now that they had a target. "Xavier, be careful. That floor is reinforced concrete. If he rigged it to blow, the whole structure would fold in on itself." "Then we don't give him time to press the button." Xavier kicked through a rusted skylight, dropping fifteen feet onto a catwalk. Any guard that stepped into his peripheral vision was met with a double-tap before they could even raise a

"Fast ropes! Now!" Xavier’s voice tore through the comms. He didn't wait for the chopper to level out. He gripped the rope, his gloves smoking from the friction as he descended like a falling star into the heart of the chaos. He hit the corrugated roof with a bone-jarring thud, unclipped, and was up in a crouch before the dust had even settled. Around him, his team landed. "Peter, give me the layout!" Xavier barked into his headset, his rifle tucked tight against his shoulder. "The thermal signatures are concentrated in the basement level—the old cold storage," Peter’s voice crackled, steadier now that they had a target. "Xavier, be careful. That floor is reinforced concrete. If he rigged it to blow, the whole structure would fold in on itself." "Then we don't give him time to press the button." Xavier kicked through a rusted skylight, dropping fifteen feet onto a catwalk. Any guard that stepped into his peripheral vision was met with a double-tap before they could even r

"Fast ropes! Now!" Xavier’s voice tore through the comms. He didn't wait for the chopper to level out. He gripped the rope, his gloves smoking from the friction as he descended like a falling star into the heart of the chaos. He hit the corrugated roof with a bone-jarring thud, unclipped, and was up in a crouch before the dust had even settled. Around him, his team landed. "Peter, give me the layout!" Xavier barked into his headset, his rifle tucked tight against his shoulder. "The thermal signatures are concentrated in the basement level—the old cold storage," Peter’s voice crackled, steadier now that they had a target. "Xavier, be careful. That floor is reinforced concrete. If he rigged it to blow, the whole structure would fold in on itself." "Then we don't give him time to press the button." Xavier kicked through a rusted skylight, dropping fifteen feet onto a catwalk. Any guard that stepped into his peripheral vision was met with a double-tap before they could even r