The city had gone silent outside my apartment window, but inside, my thoughts were a storm that refused to quiet. The flash drive burned in my pocket like it was alive, a reminder of the truths I’d just uncovered. Maya was alive. My father was alive. And all of it had been kept from me, tucked behind the layers of Valen’s control.
Valen had retreated to the corner of the room, his arms crossed, jaw tight. His eyes didn’t leave mine, a storm of apology and accusation tangled in their gray depths.
“I trusted you,” I said finally, voice low but sharp. “I trusted you to tell me the truth, Valen.”
“And I am,” he said. “Every step I took was to keep her alive. To keep you alive. You think I wanted this for you? For her?”
I shook my head, fury coiling inside me. “I don’t know what to think an
