Chapter 14 Snitches And Rats

• The night crawled painfully into dawn, stretching each moment into an eternity. The soldiers, weary and disillusioned, began to vacate their posts one by one. Their vigilance waned under the weight of exhaustion, their eyes drooping with the false assurance that nothing would happen. River’s silence was deafening, like a mother whispering to a deaf child—calm, quiet, but ultimately fruitless.
• Inside the Dawson mansion, slumber claimed its inhabitants. Emily had fallen asleep on the couch, her face etched with the fatigue of restless thoughts. Mavis lay beside her on a makeshift mattress, her body curled protectively against hers. In the master bedroom, Mr. and Mrs. Dawson clung to their own fragile sense of peace, blissfully unaware of the storm brewing beyond their walls.
• Four contracted guards lingered outside the mansion's front entrance, their postures slackened from a night spent on high alert. The sleek copper armor they wore shimmered faintly in the dim light of dawn, the matte finish edged with a gleaming gold trim that denoted their allegiance to the prestigious Baki Guard Distribution Corporation. Their identities were masked by the detachable helmets and featureless black visors, an intentional barrier between their duty and personal lives.