Page 130 of Royal Bargain

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The car slows.

I lift my head, heart hammering in my throat as we turn down a narrow gravel road lined with rusted fencing. The headlights sweep over a weather-beaten sign, half-faded by time and rain.

Harborview Canning Co.

Closed. Condemned. Forgotten.

But not empty.

My breath catches.

I was right.

Relief floods through me, sharp and fleeting. If Liam finds the clue… he’ll know. He’ll come.

The car rumbles to a stop in the overgrown lot. Weeds crackle beneath the tires. One of the men climbs out and yanks the door open, nodding for me to move.

I step out slowly, legs shaky but determined. The factory looms ahead—dark, massive, hollow-eyed.

Dariy walks ahead without a word.

I follow.

The door groans as it swings open. Cold air spills out, heavy with the scent of rust and mildew. My stomach churns as we pass through the entryway, boots echoing against cracked tile.

And then I see him.

Standing beneath a broken skylight, half-cast in moonlight like some ghost from another life?—

My breath lodges in my throat.

“Papa?”

His face gives nothing away, but his presence says it all.

This isn’t just revenge.

It’s a reckoning.

38

LIAM

The front door slams against the wall as I storm inside, heart already pounding.

“Ana?” I call out, tension clamping around my ribs like a vice. No answer.

The place is too quiet.

No guards posted out front. No one in the hallway. Not a damn sound.

I stalk down the hall, checking the rooms. Empty. Bathroom—empty. My chest starts to burn.

“Ana!” I bark again, louder this time, frantic.

I round the corner into the living room, ready to rip someone a new one—and freeze.

Blood.

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