4345.99 · April 9, 2025 AD
Three Days In The Walls
Three days above the Emporium. Three days of sandwiches in paper bags, of rain against leaded glass, of documents that rewrite everything Daniel thought he knew. Three days while men in unmarked vehicles strip his estate piece by piece, searching for something he's only beginning to understand. Patience has its limits. Daniel's hands flatten against the table. "I'm going back." But he won't be going alone—and not everyone who wants to come will be allowed.
The flat above the bookshop was meant to be sanctuary.
Instead it's become a cage. Two cramped bedrooms, a kitchen with ancient appliances, and the slow suffocation of waiting while reports filter in—activity at the estate, earth being disturbed, sections cordoned off. The White Rose Society isn't just searching. They're dismantling everything his family built, and Daniel can do nothing but read surveillance photos and clench his fists until his knuckles ache.
His daughters have found their own ways to cope. Maeve disappears into the archives, emerging with ink-stained fingers and fragments of understanding. Rowan maps the building's secrets—every creaking floorboard, every hidden door, every lock that responds to pressure rather than keys. Isla watches the rain and says nothing, but Daniel recognises the look in her eyes. He's seen it in the mirror.
Three days is long enough.
When Daniel announces he's going back, Douglas doesn't argue—just states he's coming too. But it's Isla who shatters the fragile calm completely.
"I'm coming with you."
Not a request. Not a question. A decision already made, waiting only for the moment to speak it aloud.
Dawn approaches. Choices crystallise. Not everyone can go.
