CHAPTER 158: The Same Page

Another silence, tense and electric. Mike opens his eyes, looking at each of us in turn, and I can see the desperation, the pain, the exhaustion. But beneath all that, there’s a glimmer of something else—a spark that I haven’t seen in years. Determination.

“All right,” he says finally, his voice steady, resolved. “I’m in.”

And just like that, the storm cloud hanging over us begins to lift. It’s a fragile alliance, a tentative truce, but it’s something. And as we sit there, the three of us united in purpose, I can’t help but feel a flicker of hope.

For the first time, I believe that we might actually have a chance.

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Desiree and I are on our way to her father's house. The low purr of the engine fills the heavy silence inside the car. Desiree sits beside me, her arms crossed and her gaze locked firmly out the window. She hasn’t said a word since we left, and the tension radiating off her is thick enough to choke on.

The city lights streak across her face, highlighting the sharp