Chapter 20

Chloe’s POV

I woke up to silence.

Not the calm kind. The heavy kind that pressed against my chest and made it hard to breathe. The bed was too wide, the room too neat. The sheets still carried Drake’s scent, expensive soap mixed with something darker that refused to leave my skin.

He was not here.

I sat up slowly and pulled the sheet around my body. Morning light slipped through the tall curtains, pale and careful, as if it did not want to disturb me. For a few seconds, I forgot where I was. Then the memory returned.

The safe house.

I stood and stepped onto the cold floor. Everything in this room was perfect. Too perfect. The furniture was untouched. The carpet was spotless. Nothing here carried a past.

Except me.

I walked to the window and pulled the curtain aside slightly. Outside, the compound looked quiet and controlled. Two men stood near the gate, talking in low voices. When I moved, they stopped.

They did not look s