“Fine,” I say eventually. “I’ll let her go. And if you answer my questions truthfully, I’ll let her live.”
Relief floods Gareth’s features, but Harper cries even harder. She realizes what this means—that she’ll never see her father again, that this will be goodbye forever.
“Harper,” I call out, my voice cutting through her wails. “Come here.”
She shakes her head frantically, pressing herself harder against the wall.
“Now.”
Reluctantly, moving like someone walking to their own execution, she approaches the bars. Her father stands, too, and suddenly they’re embracing, clinging to each other like people who are drowning.
“I’m sorry,” Gareth whispers into her hair, his voice cracking for the first time since I arrived. “I’m so sorry, little star. For everything.”
Harper is bawling too h
