In the Pierce family, Zack had knelt for two grueling days.
His spine stayed ramrod straight, but his mind churned with thoughts of Claire. A knot of worry tightened in his chest, relentless as the ache in his knees.
On the second day of Claire's confinement, he'd ordered the maid to prepare warm food and blankets, only for Margaret to intercept him with a voice like cracking ice.
"Punishment is punishment," she snapped. "Is this a spa day or discipline? Have you forgotten what the confinement room is for?"
His defiance condemned him to this endless kneel. Yet even now, his thoughts drifted back to Claire's sacrifice, years ago, she'd taken a knife for him. The memory of that sickening thud flashed in his mind, the wound that shattered her health forever. When Hannah brought his meals,
