Chapter 98

I stood outside the packhouse, the night air thick with tension. The search at the old packhouse had been a dead end. Hannah’s tip had led us there, but Gerald and his men were long gone by the time we arrived.

The place had been cleared out, no sign of Anna or Owen anywhere. We found nothing except traces of their presence — old food wrappers, a few scattered clothes, and the faint scent of Anna’s lingering fear.

I could not get rid of the constant sensation as someone played me. Like a puppet on wires attached to its master. I felt my fingers curl into fists as the anger threatened to overtake me.

Hannah asserted that she did not know the location Gerald had relocated to, but what was there to trust about her? After all that, how could I trust her?

The fighters I had brought along remained on the margins, their expressions tired and haggard. They were aware that this was an important juncture. They could see it in my eyes, and hear it in my voice. Each ticking clock inched us nearer