Page 263 of Maddening Fixation

I stood there watching.

Unable to move. Unable to speak.

The ambulance doors closed.

A final, unforgiving sound.

Then the siren erupted.

The vehicle pulled away, its lights cutting through the darkness as it disappeared down the long driveway.

I watched until the taillights vanished.

Only then did I realize I had stopped breathing.

My chest felt hollow and empty.

Like something had been ripped out of me.

I turned around and walked back into the safe house.

But this time, I wasn’t walking toward revenge.

I was walking toward answers.

The rage inside me had changed.

Before, it had been directed outward.

At Sokolov.

At Juliet.

At anyone who stood between me and the truth I thought I knew.

Now it burned differently.

Because beneath the anger was something I hated even more.

Regret.

Sokolov was still exactly where I had left him.

Tied to the chair.

The ropes had cut deeper into his already damaged wrists, leaving dark marks against his bloodied skin.

But he looked different now.

Not like an enemy.

Like a father terrified of losing his daughters.

I stopped in front of him.

My jaw clenched. “Do you want to live, Sokolov?”

My voice was quiet.