The first breaking news alert hit Valenridge at exactly 6:12 a.m. By 6:20, every television station had interrupted regular programming.
By 6:45, panic had already spread through half the country.
DORIAN ESCAPES DURING PRISON TRANSPORT.
The headline exploded across giant screens, phones, radios and social media feeds faster than wildfire.
Inside cafés, customers abandoned breakfast tables to stare at televisions in disbelief. Taxi drivers pulled over just to listen to emergency broadcasts. Parents hurriedly called schools asking whether security had increased.
Because everyone in Valenridge knew Dorian's name. And everyone remembered what followed wherever he went.
Violence. Manipulation and Fear.
Atmosphere inside Ravenscroft Mansion had changed completely before sunrise.
Security teams flooded every hallway while armored vehicles lined the estate gates outside. Officers moved quickly through the mansion grounds with weapons visible for the first time openly.
