the sound of my own breathing-it all faded away into a dull roar in my ears. Ethan'

ocent. Ethan was wrong, twisted by a lie that Daniel Miller had

ords tasting like ash in my mouth.

a string of smooth, dark beads, running them through his fingers. I' d seen him with them before. As my words hung in the air, his

urned and walked out of the room,

my father' s laugh, my brother' s bright future, Sarah and baby Lily. It was all gone. There was nothing left to live for. Justice was a lie, and m

han fo

mit until my stomach was empty and my throat was raw. He saved my life, but I didn't know why. I saw his face as I drifted in and out of consciousness. He looked... distressed. Panicked. It was the first real emotion I had seen

out knocking. He ripped the blankets off

," he c

too weak to move,

d, forcing me to stand. "I saved your lif

ce hoarse. "Why wouldn

sister." He looked me up and down, his gaze filled with disgust. "Look at you. Pathetic

iliate me, to break

small spark of defiance flick

d one reason only. To pay a debt." His face was close to mine now, his breath hot on my cheek. "If it wasn't for Anna, for what she need

agedy as a weapon, twisting his love for her into a justification for his cruelty toward me. My family was innocent, but he