“I’m Lily… Lily Hartwell. I just wanted to see the snow. The door closed behind me. I don’t know the code.”
She sniffed.
“My dad is on a business trip. He won’t be back until morning.”

Marcus scanned the mansion.

Every window was dark. No lights. No movement.

He checked his broken watch—something he’d found in a dumpster that still somehow worked.

10:30 p.m.

Dawn was hours away.

And Lily didn’t have hours.

Marcus could leave. He could run to the subway, wrap himself in his blanket, and protect the only thing he had left—his life. No one would blame him. No one would even know.

But his mother’s words slammed into his chest:

Don’t let the world steal your heart.

He placed his hands on the icy iron gate.

“Hold on, Lily,” he said, his voice shaking. “I’m coming in.”