?Chapter 1231:


    “Every inch of this ce is under my watch. The snipers out there are getting restless. If you so much as take one step past that door, they’ll have their fun. You won’t make it to the trees.”


    The blood drained from her face. She didn’t doubt him for a second.


    From the moment she and Drake had stepped into the fortress, Nina had sensed the danger. The air itself felt trapped—thick, suffocating. Not even a bird could fly free from here.


    She had thought Drake let her bring William because he remembered what she’d done for Erebus.


    She’d thought it was trust. Gratitude.


    But she was wrong. So terribly wrong.


    She hadn’t saved William. She had delivered him—to the man who would destroy him.


    Drake wasn’t the one in control at all. Arlo was. Arlo, with his scar and his smile, was the man behind everything.


    “Take Miss Carter back to her room,” Arlo said, his tone casual, as if dismissing an unimportant detail.


    Two mercenaries appeared from the shadows. They grabbed her arms, guiding—dragging—her toward the door.


    As she nced back onest time, she saw Arlo walk into William’s ward. He bent low, whispering something near William’s ear. A chill ran down her spine.


    The room they locked her in was almostfortable—almost. There was a soft bed, clean sheets, even a vase of artificial flowers on the table. But every window was sealed, and armed guards stood on either side of the door, faces nk and silent.


    Days blurred into each other. No one spoke to her. No one told her anything.


    She didn’t know if William was still alive. She didn’t know what Arlo had done to him. The guards were unwilling to share any news. The uncertainty gnawed at her like a disease.


    Every time she closed her eyes, she saw William’s face—the moment she found him at the bottom of the cliff, broken but breathing. How she had cried with relief.


    Now she wished she hadn’t.


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    She had thought that with Ste gone, and with her saving him, he would start to warm up to her.


    But her n had backfired. She couldn’t even be near him. Worst of all, she had put him in grave danger.


    If someone else had found him—one of his people, his friends—maybe… just maybe, none of this would’ve happened.


    Each night, her tears soaked the pillow. Silent. Endless.


    asionally, Drake would show up—uninvited, unwanted. The man who had tricked her into walking straight into hell. Every time she saw him now, something cold crawled up her spine.


    The sight of his calm, practiced smile made her skin crawl.


    “Miss Carter,” he said, his voice smooth, almost teasing, “are you living well here?”


    He stood by the door, posture rxed, hands in his pockets, that fake smile still stered on his face.


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