The entire room froze.
Dozens of heads turned toward the entrance. Bruno's hand paused in mid-air, the gavel hovering mere inches above the sounding block. The overlapping shouts and aggressive demands of the Council died instantly.
Luca stood in the open doorway, blocking the exit with his massive frame, his hand resting casually near his holster. And standing right beside him, looking pale and terrified but very much alive, was Dr. Aris Silva.
You could hear the rhythmic ticking of the antique grandfather clock in the corner.
Mara turned her gaze from the doors back to the head of the table, waiting to see the shock on Bruno Ferrante's face. Waiting to see his eyes widen in defeat as his carefully constructed trap shatter into a thousand useless pieces now that their phantom witness had materialized.
But as Bruno looked at the trembling doctor standing in the doorway, his face did something none of them had ever seen it do before.
