* * *
The office was silent, the kind of silence that weighed heavy in the air, as if the room itself knew the gravity of the situation. I stood by the window, looking out at the empty streets below. Everything was quiet, still, but my mind was racing. This wasn't over. Far from it. Z was still out there, and now, the game had just taken another deadly turn.
Across the room, Kiyoshi sat in the chair, hands bound, looking like a man who had been through hell and back. His eyes were hollow, almost defeated, but there was something else there too—fear. Not just for himself, but for what was coming next. For who might be Z's next target.
"I don't think he's bluffing," my voice broke the silence, low and rough. "If what he said is true, this Z is the most insane person I've ever encountered."