confined

Ismael's body quivered with a swirling tempest of rage, his eyes ablaze with a ferocious fire. His lashes had slanted slightly, betraying the turmoil within, while his gaze remained fixed on a point ahead. He dragged himself forward, his steps heavy with the weight of his emotions, his very being consumed by a torrent of anger.

"Raise him up," Ismael's voice sliced through the tense air, the demand laced with an iron resolve as his fingers tightened around his waistline, a grip of desperation.

His eyes fell upon his younger brother, Daniel, the one person he had once trusted beyond question. The only human he had considered an exception, apart from Leo, who he believed would never betray him. The words "people change" echoed in his mind, a phrase that had come to mock his naivety. And as the truth bore down upon him, Ismael began to realize that there had been no change at all—only a reality he had been shielded from.

"Unhand me," Daniel's voice cut through the tension, the defiance i