Chapter 162

Lauren's POV

The car rolled to a stop in front of what could only be described as… a disappointment. I blinked several times, staring through the tinted window, waiting for my brain to catch up with what my eyes were seeing. When Roman told me about this event, I imagined something entirely different — something extravagant, dripping in wealth and exclusivity. A towering skyscraper, maybe. A building that screamed power, like the Burj Khalifa or some high-end private estate tucked behind electric fences and armed guards.

But this?

The place sitting quietly before us looked like a tired old house, the kind you’d find in a forgotten neighborhood where the paint peeled off the walls, and the wooden stairs groaned from years of neglect. It reminded me painfully of the shared apartment I once lived in during college — creaky, small, and perpetually smelling like something was burnt in the kitchen. This house looked worse, honestly. The sight of it sent