The silence in the back of the armored SUV was deafening, save for the steady, rhythmic drumming of rain against the tinted glass. Clara Vance sat frozen, her knees pulled tight to her chest, her mind trapped in a violent loop.

*The shattering glass. The scream. The sickening thud.*

Victor Sterl

"You bought him."

Clara’s voice was a fragile, trembling whisper that threatened to shatter at any second. She pointed a shaking finger at the laptop screen, her eyes wide with horror as she backed away from the desk. "You bought Julian."

Victor stood by the door, entirely unbothered by the accus

The piercing scream of a circular saw echoed through the cavernous, unfinished lobby of the new downtown arts center. Plaster dust hung thick in the sweltering afternoon air, coating Clara Vance’s hard hat in a fine, chalky film.

It had been exactly one month.

Thirty agonizing days since she had