Page 129 of In Shadows We Dance

“That’s the difference between us. I knowexactlywho she is. And you’re terrified of it.”

The truth hangs between us, and for the first time, Miller doesn’t have anything to say.

“You can’t force her back. She’s eighteen. Legal. The only power you ever had was built on lies, and now it’s gone. You’ve lost her.”

His face hardens, but I don’t care.

“We’ll be watching you.”

I grin. “Good luck with that.”

Miller stands there for a second longer, before turning on his heel, barking orders at his men to clear out. The noise fades as they leave.

I wait until the door shuts, until the rumble of their cars fades into the silence, then I lean back against the wall, and take a slow breath.

They’ll focus on hotels, bus stations, all the usual places where scared little girls run.

But Ileana isn’t scared.

Anticipation rolls through me, hot and delicious. The game has changed, and so have the rules.

She’s Isabella Rossi now—free, defiant,herself.

And I’m the only one who knows how to follow where she’s leading.

CHAPTER 65

Dancing in Darkness

ILEANA

The initial adrenalinehas long drained away, leaving behind exhaustion and gnawing fear. Every corner could hold a danger I never imagined back when my biggest worry was blending in. Every shadow could be a threat. This isn’t like avoiding attention at school, where invisibility was enough.

The rough brick scrapes against my back as I press into it, my breathing shallow as the footsteps come closer. Two male voices reach me through the pre-dawn air, their laughter grating against my nerves.

Don’t look. Don’t stop.

I hold my breath, each second stretching like an eternity as their voices pass, loud and careless, before fading into the distance. I force myself to wait … five seconds, then ten … until the silence returns. The drip of water, the far-off rush of traffic. My heart hammers in my ears, drowning out everything else.

Legs trembling, I peel myself off the wall. There’s no room for noise, no room for mistakes. My fingers stay curled tight around the money in my pocket—a crumpled stack of bills, small but vital. It’s the only thing keeping me alive. My safety. My future. Myfreedom.

But freedom doesn’t feel like I thought it would. It doesn’t feel like air or light or open spaces. It feelscrushing.Like a void where nothing exists but the sound of my own breathing and the fear that every step is leading me back to the cage I’ve been trapped in.

I edge along the wall, moving through spaces that don’t feel safe anymore. The dark has turned on me, becoming too openand too full all at once. I jump at every sound. Skittering rats, creaking pipes, distant footsteps that might be nothing or might be everything.

Is this what you wanted?

James’s voice echoes in my mind, cold and accusing. I can’t think of him as my father now, not after the truth shattered every illusion of what I thought we were.

You wanted to run. You wanted freedom. Look at you now.

I swallow hard, pushing him away. He doesn’t own me anymore. I ran from him, from their lies, from every rule that suffocated me. I can’t let his voice be the thing that drags me back.

An engine growls nearby, and I freeze again, flattening myself against the wall. My breathing stops, my body screaming at me to run, but I can’t risk it. Headlights sweep across the edge of my sneakers, lingering for a beat too long before sliding past.

I don’t move until the sound fades. Then, I run.

Not far. Not fast. My legs feel like they might give out any second, every step sending a dull ache through my body. But I keep moving, because stopping feels like surrender.

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