A silence settled over the bunker, tense and suffocating, as if the air itself had frozen. The Vanguard's ultimatum lingered, hanging in the minds of everyone present like the sharp edge of a blade. Daniel's jaw tightened as he surveyed the room, noting the fear etched into each face.
He turned, and his gaze met Claire's. She stood with her arms crossed, her posture a blend of defiance and protectiveness, a lioness guarding her territory. Her eyes flicked to Tessa and her group, her jaw clenched. "They're dead weight," she said quietly, but with a hard edge. "We don't owe them anything, Daniel."
Tessa flinched, her hands gripping the fabric of her coat as though holding on to a last lifeline. "Please," she said, voice trembling. "We have nowhere else to go. They'll kill us if you turn us out. Or worse, drag us back for more experiments."
