Chapter 27 · Untitled Chapter

The low rumble of idling engines vibrated through the limestone floor, a heavy, rhythmic pulse beneath the muted hum of the climate control. Beyond the drawn drapes of the private wing, the perimeter lamps along the courtyard boundary shifted from amber to an unblinking white.

They had halted before the outer gate.

Bandar did not move toward the glass. He remained in the center of the Persian runner, his white thobe pristine, his fingers turning the dark amber misbaha with deliberate, measured pace before closing them into his palm. His silence was neither hesitation nor retreat; it was the unyielding posture of a man whose presence filled the stone walls around him.

Outside, the estate intercom chimed once in the corridor—a discreet, sharp tone signaling a summons from the gatehouse barrier. Through the thick mahogany of the locked door, the distant, crackling voice of the guard rose across the house line, followed by the flattened cadence of an outside envoy speaking on borrowed authority.

"The party named in the notice must present herself at the courtyard barrier," the voice announced over the speaker. "Protocol requires visual confirmation before the cars clear the perimeter.