CHAPTER 116 The Labyrinth of Lies

  Angela stared out of the car window as they sped toward New York, the city's faint glow rising on the horizon like a beacon. The tension between her and Edmund was palpable, the silence heavy with unspoken fears. Each mile they crossed felt like a step closer to an inevitable storm, a storm that would either destroy everything or finally set her free.

  Edmund drove with steely determination, his eyes fixed on the road ahead. The file from Michael rested on the dashboard, unopened since they'd left Chicago. Angela's fingers twitched with the urge to grab it, to tear it open and confront whatever truths it held, but something held her back. Fear, perhaps, or the lingering hope that ignorance might still shield her from the full weight of what was coming.

  "Where does she live?" Angela asked, her voice tight.