ella

tured it in the dark. A man with a calm, authoritative voice had answered

feigned compliance. I was counting t

while Vincent was in Ca

y saviors who c

my ja

e had been a constant, cold pressure for a decade. Behind her stood two of the most loyal Falcone s

her voice dripping with false conce

said, my vo

s were chips of flint. "We've come to solve a problem." She h

and thrust them at me. "Sign th

N

ever dealt me. It was the blow that severed the final, frayed thread of affection I had for the people who raised me. They weren't here t

voice a low, venomous purr. "That the child you carry is

oison had do

lie," I

"You have become a liability. We are

st the wall. My adoptive father forced a pen into my

as I scrawled a broken signature, severing my

ulled a small, snub-nosed revolver from her purse. She d

she said. "To terminate this... c

from my throat. "No!

for them. The soldiers dragged me from the room, my feet scraping against the floor. I was blee

ted their eyes, and out into the bright sunlight. As they forced me to

h the haze

riveway, blocking the gates. Men in immaculate dark suits poured out, moving with the

out of the lead car. He was older, his hair silvered at the temples, but he moved with the coiled powe

he grounds. My name, a roar on his lip

abe

r had co