Aria spent Wednesday morning preparing for war.
Not with weapons – with silence. She ate breakfast standing at the kitchen counter, staring at her phone, replaying Marcus's final words. Now she'll lead us to her mother. Victor wanted her to remember. He wanted her to run. He wanted her to lead him somewhere only she could find.
Damien arrived at eight, dark circles carved beneath his eyes. He had not slept either. "Dr. Vance called. She cleared another session. Nine o'clock."
"Does she know about the recording? Marcus's confession?"
"No. I thought we should keep that between us." He handed her a cup of coffee, black, no sugar. "The federal contact is reviewing the file. No updates yet."
Aria drank half the coffee in one swallow. The heat burned her throat. She welcomed the pain.
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