Chapter 6

I woke to the scent of dust and old grease, my body aching against something hard and unforgiving. For a moment, I couldn't remember where I was—then it all came rushing back. The storm. Mark's cruel laughter. The red envelope. Liam's weathered hands pulling me from the frozen doorway.

I was lying on a makeshift bed in what had once been a commercial kitchen, surrounded by the ghosts of a restaurant's former life. Stainless steel surfaces gleamed dully in the morning light filtering through grimy windows. Industrial ovens stood silent, their mouths dark and cold. Everything was covered in a…