ya

e like a layer of grease, making every breath a struggle. I sat rigid in the heavy wooden

al reports your mother provided," he said, deliberately avoiding my gaze. "They d

" I rasped. "My mother paid Dr. Rossi to write this. Check his accounts. Check w

ss. Before I could, a guard lunged forward and shoved me hard by the shoulder.

ndicate for twenty years. A man of his stature does not hurt his own blood without cause." He tapped a manicured finger ag

kitten! They beat me! They're trying to lock me away so they can control me! Call an i

In his mind, the case was already closed. That one look fractured something deep inside my chest. He didn't believ

lder closed with finality. "I've already arranged for your father's men to collect

e meant I'd never see the outside world again. They'd drug me into a

warrant," I whispered, th

, escort her to the isola

d through the narrow top-floor corridor, my cracked burner phone vibrated sharply inside my coat pocket. I slipped it out with trembling fi

d the narrow staircase leading to the roof, I threw my entire body weight against the guard on my left. He stumbled har

er!" one of

biting cold of the night wind hit my face like a physical blow. I didn't stop running until I re

pped my cracked phone, ignoring the hundred new threatening messages

om every word. "The guards just called. Get down from

black sky. The crushing stone that had been sitting on

y steady. "I'm going to find