The city lay under a blanket of fog, the kind that clung to every surface and muffled every sound. Max walked through the predawn gloom, his senses on high alert. The revelation about Lila and her mysterious employer had sharpened his resolve. He needed answers, and the city was a labyrinth of secrets waiting to be unraveled.
Max reached the safe house, an old brick building with peeling paint and boarded-up windows. Inside, Rachel and Evelyn were already at work, the dim light casting long shadows across the room. The air was thick with tension and the smell of stale coffee.
"We're running out of time," Rachel said, her eyes red-rimmed from lack of sleep. "If we don't find out who's behind this soon, we're going to lose whatever advantage we have."
Max nodded, his jaw set. "We need to hit them where it hurts. We need leverage."
