Mile

yes darting nervously around the imposing room. He didn't understand the verdict, the crushing inju

tears, stroking his hair. "It's okay. We're going home." I

side felt like a cruel joke, mocking my defeat. I blinked back tears, refusing to let them fall. Not here. Not

t after the legal battle. He needed constant care, a quiet environment, a chance to slowly, painstakingly, reclaim fragments of h

I had saved months ago, I waited, my breath held. "Professor Thorne?" I said, my voice steady, betraying non

fellowship months ago, impressed by my early work. I had declined then, blinded by my futile fight for justice. Now, it was my only path.

, his voice grave. "It involves powerful playe

ed. All of it. And I need protection. For myself, and for my brother." He agreed, his voice fille

, the photos of my injuries, the few blurry screenshots of Kelvin's torture video I had managed to save. I converted everything to encrypted digital files,

ere Henrietta Reed Barrera, Dayton's mother, lived. The same Henrietta who had arranged m

ristocratic disdain. But there was also a flicker of something else in her eyes, a weariness I hadn't noticed before. I bowed my head, a gestu

the trouble you've caused my son?" Her vo

. I won't be a problem for Dayton or your family ever again." I paused, letting the words sink in. "But I need

her eyes. "You want no money? No medical assistance for your brothe

terms," I said, my voice firm. "Free from their influence

t he was smarter than everyone else." She shook her head, a hint of regret in her eyes. "Very well, Brynn. For.

prising in its intensity. I bowed deeply, a ges

her voice softening sligh

The sky had opened up, a cold, cleansing rain washing over me. I stood there for a long moment, le

He had bypassed the block. A final attempt to exe

. Six years since we first met." His voice held a strange mix of nostalgia and som

ly remember?" I asked, my voice flat, devoid of emotion. "After all this

. "It's... complicated. Ju

ave him an address, a deserted park bench, knowing I w

ness. "Try to look... presentable. You know how much I appreciate elega

ing: "Dayton Reed and Cassidy Mclean: A Love Story for the Ages! Celebrating Their Perfect Union." Below it, a picture of them, beaming,

declaration of his unwavering love. He had engraved our initials on a tiny silver locket, a symbol of our unb

nsults. "She's not one of us, darling," Henrietta had once said, her words like daggers. "She

from my lawyer, a copy of the finalized div

y passport, my new identity, my brother's new medical records-all secure. I left my apartment,

e. He held my hand tightly as we boarded the plane, his eyes wide as we soared into the

ding it, piece by painful piece. My heart ached, a residual phantom pain, but beneath it, a new strength was growing, hard and resilient. This wasn'