Maxwell heaves himself to his feet, swaying slightly. “You owe us this, girl,” he growls. “After everything this family has done for you—”
I scoff. “What family? You mean the one that turned their back on me when I needed them most?”
Stephan stands, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Clara, I know it’s been hard. But this is your blood. Your heritage. The Caldwells, we stick together. No matter what.”
I close my eyes, the weight of the past pushing down on me.
Jake’s laugh.
The scrape of the shovel as I helped Stephan bury my brother’s body.
But then I see Elijah’s face, his trusting eyes looking up at me. Can I really do this to him? Risk everything, risk his whole world, for a chance at payback?
I inhale sharply, my hands balling into tight fists.
“No, I’m sorry, I won’t do it. I promised Elijah a Pokémon movie tonight.”
nineteen
Clara
This is bad.Real bad.
The worst thing I could do.
It’ll ruin everything.
Might even get me killed.
I stare at the vial of poison in my hand, no bigger than a thimble. The liquid inside is clear and innocuous-looking, but I know better. It’s a new concoction cooked up by the Ravens’ own demented scientists.
"Odorless and tasteless to most—unless you know the scent to chase or the bitterness to linger on your tongue. But this? It’s not just lethal. It’s going to fucking kill the bastard who made it."
How’s that for irony?
With security this tight, there’s no way I’d make it through the door with the vial on me. They’ll be patting down every inch ofmy barely-clad body. So, I do the only thing I can think of. I pop the tiny capsule into my mouth and tuck it carefully under my tongue. The glass is smooth and cool against my flesh.
My heart pounds wildly against my ribs as I try to act natural, like I’m not smuggling instant death past the guards.
Fuck.
I swore I was done with this life. Especially now that I have my baby boy waiting for me at home.
He needs his mommy.
So why am I here?
Why am I doing this when I should be curled up on the couch with Elijah, watching Detective Pikachu for the umpteenth time?
Stephan’s words echo in my head, our conversation from earlier tonight replaying like a broken record.
“Clara, I know this is asking a lot,” he’d said, his face etched with guilt and exhaustion. “But this may be our only shot. To take down Kuznetsov once and for all. To get justice for Jake.”
I’d clenched my fists at my sides, anger and pain reigniting in my veins at the mention of my brother’s name.
“I want that bastard dead as much as you do, Stephan. But I have a child to think about now. I can’t just go off on some revenge mission anymore.”
Stephan had grasped my shoulders, his gaze intense. “This is bigger than revenge, Clara. Kuznetsov is a cancer, rotting everything he touches. The things he’s done… If we don’t stop him now, Elijah may not have a future at all.”
