Tia didn't flinch. She had sensed him the moment he walked in. He moved like a predator, silent and deliberate. He slid into the booth opposite her, his presence sucking the warmth from the air.

She looked down. He was right. A fine tremor ran through her fingers. It wasn't fear of him; it was fear of what he represented. The key wasn't just a physical object; it was a burden, a responsibility she had cast aside years ago. It was the key to the Old Vault, a legendary safe hidden beneath the city's foundations, said to contain not gold, but secrets—secrets that could topple governments and destroy lives.

"I didn't think you’d stay," he replied, signaling the bartender for a drink without looking away from her. "You’re usually halfway to the horizon by now."

: Listings on various adult industry tracking sites and forums.

He was back. And he wanted answers.

: While she does not maintain a high-profile mainstream social media presence today, clips and images from her 2019 era continue to circulate in adult-oriented digital spaces.

"I hid it," she admitted, the words dragging out of her. "In a place no one would think to look. A place that doesn't exist on any map."

Tia looked at the Negroni, the ice melting into the red liquid. She could walk away. She could slip out the back and vanish into the night, just like she always did. But she knew he would follow. He would hunt her to the ends of the earth.