The trap did not close on innocent people.

It closed on people who, offered grace, chose cruelty, one last time, with a baby in the room.

Chapter 7 — The Man He Begged

The recovery room fell into a dead, suffocating silence.

Thomas’s hand hovered in mid-air near the folder he had placed on my table, his fingers visibly trembling.

Evelyn backed away two full paces, one hand rushing to her throat as if she could not get enough air.

Because they both knew exactly who Julian Mercer was.