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I’m stunned into the rare condition of being speechless. Grandpa Wallace stands near the edge of the crowd, unmoving, wearing the same grave expression as everyone else. But when our eyes meet, his disappointment cuts through the noise. No words. None required. It’s clear I’ve failed the family.

The masks around me blur into a sea of silver faces. I know I should make a scene, for Zaiya’s sake, if nothing else. I can’t let her go like this, paying for my cowardice.

Liam comes towards me after he shakes Patrick’s hand. His expression breaks.

“I’m sorry, son.”

“You know this isn’t right,” I hiss. “It’s fucking rigged.”

“The scale tipped in his favor. You can inspect it yourself. It’s over.”

A handful of men gather around Patrick, congratulating him, clapping him on the shoulder.

Liam’s voice drops when he turns back to me. “It’s time to say goodbye.”

Those big gray eyes wreck me when she searches my face for the answer. Then she looks at Liam. Then Patrick. Then the two men starting towards her.

She must think this is a formality.

I grab her arm and pull her behind me before they can reach her. My brothers move too, forming a wall on either side. Reese shifts his stance, ready to break bones with his hands if this becomes a fight.

And God, let it become a fight.

“You can’t do this to her,” I say. “Patrick cheated and you fucking know it.”

Patrick’s smile is slow and satisfied.

“Keep them back,” he says to the men coming for Zaiya. His smug face pisses me off even more. “You know the rules, Edwin. You lose, she dies.”

Then he looks directly at her. “Can’t have her spilling any secrets.”

Her lips part in stunned disbelief as her eyes widen. She looks up at me.

“Is that true?” Her voice is barely there. “Did you know?”

My chest is too tight. Grief and rage and love are all trying to occupy the same space, and none of them are willing to move.

I nod.

“I didn’t want you to worry.”

She stares at me like she’s waiting for the rest of it. For the part where I say I would never let it happen.

When it doesn’t come, she pulls her hand from mine, letting her fingers slip away one by one in a devastating procession.

“You didn’t want me to run.” She takes a step away from me, away from any protection I could offer. “Always worried I’d leave. Watching where I went. Who I talked to. You just wanted to control me.”

“Baby—” I reach for her again, but she flinches, and that hurts more than if she’d slapped me.

Tears shine in her eyes, but she blinks them back hard, refusing to give that pain to the room.

She stares ahead like she’s reliving all the moments we shared and regretting every one of them.

“Can’t I just leave?” she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. “I want no part of this Order.”

Liam can hardly make eye contact with her. “I’m sorry, Zaiya. It’s in the—”

“No, you can’t simply leave,” Patrick cuts in. “You were supposed to know the consequences before agreeing to do this. My wife understood what was asked of her and accepted the risk. Selfish Edwin didn’t care about you.”