Declan visits just after four a.m., slipping past protocol like a man drunk on misplaced devotion.
“You okay?” he whispers, crouching beside my cot. “It got out of hand fast. I didn’t expect Ramirez to have a box cutter.”
I give him a tired smile. “I’m fine. Just… extra flair for the cameras.”
His mouth tightens. “This is insane. They’re going to reassign me after this.”
“You won’t let them,” I say, threading my fingers through his. “Because I need you. And because you want to be the one who saves me. You said so yourself.”
His jaw flexes.
“You’re the only one who sees the truth, Declan,” I murmur. “You always have.”
I swallow a grin. People don’t want truth. They want a version they can live with.
He leans in like he’s going to kiss me, and I turn at the last second so his lips land on my cheek—just beside the bandage.
Let him feel my pain.
He leaves minutes later, promising to text Blake some “leaked footage.” The plan is working. It always works when the stakes feel personal.
People don’t fight for causes.
They fight for characters.
And I’ve given them one hell of a heroine.
* * *
Two days later, my new lawyer arrives from the LA County Innocence Project—crisp suit, sharp eyes, fire she thinks is righteous.
“We’ve filed for an emergency injunction,” she says. “Your injuries, the lack of oversight, the botched investigation, a biased, predominantly male jury—there’s plenty of reasonable doubt surrounding Agent Taylor Newsome’s death. The podcast has generated over eight million new downloads since the attack. It’s everywhere. Public outrage. Protesters calling for your immediate release.”
She doesn’t ask how I got hurt.
She doesn’t want to know.
“I want a personal interview with Evelyn tomorrow,” I say. “Exclusive. From here.”
“I’ll make it happen,” she says, already scrolling.
By the time the appeal date is announced, I’ll be America’s favorite redemption arc. I listen as Harper sobs through another segment, begging her listeners to “be the change.”
She’s not wrong.
Change is coming.
The world’s been too soft on monsters like me.
They deserve someone who bites back.
Every woman who scares people gets labeledunstable.
It just so happens I’m the kind of girl who wears that label like armor.
Chapter Eight
Evelyn
