Chapter 1: The Cold Doesn’t Kill Me
The cold was brutal—but it wasn’t my enemy.
Panic kills faster than freezing ever could.
I slowed my breathing, each inhale measured, each exhale controlled. Frost gathered along my lashes, but my pulse remained steady. Nathan thought he understood pressure. He didn’t. He had never built something from nothing. He had only ever taken.
I moved carefully through the narrow aisle, past stacks of frozen inventory worth more than his entire ego.
Three minutes passed.
Then five.
Then I reached the ventilation panel.
Exactly where Donovan said it would be.
My gloved fingers slid beneath the loosened edge. I pulled.
A quiet click.
Fresh air slipped through like a whisper of rebellion.
I didn’t escape.
Not yet.
Because surviving wasn’t enough.
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Nathan needed to fall.
And tonight… he would.
