Looking around, the snow beyond the door lay smooth and flawless, not a single footprint in sight. That meant the woman could have gone only one way—to the three-story house across the street, the one with the fenced yard. It was the only other area where the snow between the two buildings had been cleared. Since no footprints led anywhere else, she had to be inside that house. She couldn't have gotten far in such a short time anyway. Cassian and Natalie, followed by the pets, headed straight across the street. The front gate was cracked open. Cassian pushed it, and it groaned on its hinges as it swung inward. The snow in the yard remained untouched except for one clear trail of footprints leading deeper inside. They moved in carefully. The house was still, covered in a thick layer of dust, as if it had been abandoned for years. Lucky trotted ahead, her nose twitching as she sniffed the air. She followed the trail through the hall and stopped at a bedroom on the first floor. The wet footprints, marked with melted snow, led straight into that room. Lucky stopped beside a loose floor tile and looked at Natalie, tapping it with her paw to get her attention. Natalie crouched down and tapped back. The hollow sound echoed faintly beneath them. "She's down here?" Lucky nodded once. Natalie and Cassian exchanged a quick look. Then Natalie asked, "Anyone else in the building?" Lucky shook her head.Natalie lifted her gun, every movement cautious, while Cassian leaned forward and carefully pried the tile open. But instead of finding the store owner's wife hiding underneath, they saw a dark, narrow tunnel stretching deep into the ground. Cassian frowned and started to climb down for a closer look. Natalie caught his arm and shook her head. She reached into her storage space, pulled out a handful of marbles, and dropped them in. The sound echoed down the shaft, the clattering fading as the marbles rolled away in different directions. Cassian's expression tightened. "That tunnel's big. Looks like it splits off in several directions." Natalie let out a sharp breath. "That woman's sly. She actually built herself a backup escape route." She didn't hesitate long. "Forget it. We're leaving." The woman was far too crafty. If they charged into that maze without knowing it, they could be ambushed, trapped, or led straight into an enemy base. Better to leave now while they still could. They might have been played by that couple, but they hadn't taken any real damage. The husband was dead, and that was payback enough. Even if the wife wanted revenge, what could she do? This was the apocalypse. She wasn't going to cross the whole country to hunt them down. Surviving one state was already a miracle. Once they agreed, the two of them and the pets didn't waste another second. They left the house and headed for the edge of the city.Greendale was crowded and crawling with eyes. They'd caused enough chaos already, and since this was Greendale Gang territory, using the storage space here was too risky. Luckily, they were close to the outskirts. Natalie decided they'd get outside the city first and take out the snowmobile once they were clear. But before they could go far, people began spilling out of the surrounding houses. A man's voice cut through the air. "Anthony! You're the new deputy leader now. Time to show the boys what you've got!" Natalie watched the crowd pour out from every direction and silently thanked herself for staying out of that tunnel. With no phones or radios, the only way these people could coordinate so perfectly was by using those underground routes. If she and Cassian had gone down there, they'd have walked straight into an ambush. Without a second thought, Natalie pulled a MAC-10 and a newly looted AK rifle from her storage space. She tossed the rifle to Cassian. Both armed and ready, they braced themselves for a fight. Anyone who could rush out of Greendale in numbers that large, moving that boldly, had to belong to the Greendale Gang. That alone was reason enough for Natalie to stay on high alert. But then she caught a name she never expected to hear. Her finger froze on the trigger. "Did they just say Anthony?" Cassian's reaction mirrored hers. Both of them had heard Selina speak about her deep connection with Anthony. They thought Anthony had always been the victim. Now, as they looked at the man leading the pack with pride and confidence, they both remembered that pot of stew.Anthony wasn't dead. And somehow, he'd become a deputy leader. The snow reached their knees, dragging every step. By the time the group slogged close, Natalie already had her gun leveled at the man in front. Whispers rippled through the ranks. "Are my eyes playing tricks? When did they pull out a submachine gun and a rifle?" "I thought they only had a pistol!" "How would I know? You're the one who handled the info from the inn!" "I—" Natalie ignored the chatter, her gaze fixed on the man leading them. He was tall, powerfully built, and too handsome for his own good, his sharp features radiating quiet danger. "You're Anthony?" she asked flatly. The man looked them over, sizing up their strength. "Yeah." Natalie didn't lower her weapon. "Selina's boyfriend?"