Page 101 of Fallen Empire

But even in the middle of that miracle, something twisted low in my chest. A guilt I hadn’t earned the right to ignore. I stood there, watching the woman I loved take steps no one was sure she’d ever take again, and all I could think was that she shouldn’t have had to. Not like this. Not because of me.

If I’d found Bruce sooner, if I’d paid closer attention, if I’d been half the man she believed I was... maybe she wouldn’t be here, fighting for every inch of progress with fire in her veins andpain in her eyes. She was rising, yes. Defying everything meant to destroy her. But beneath the awe, beneath the breathless pride, there was shame.

Because while the world would call her a miracle, I couldn’t help but wonder if I was the reason she needed one in the first place.

And Koslov?

He was already circling.

I may have failed her with Bruce—but I’d be damned if I let it happen again.

I pulled out my phone and opened a new message to Nic. Before I hit send, I added Ben’s name.

Jaxson:“Have Layla prepped. She’s going in soon.”

If Koslov thought he still had the upper hand, he was about to learn just how wrong he was.

I wasn’t waiting for him to strike.

I was coming for him first.

Chapter 22

Savannah

I’d thought the pain would go numb by now. That eventually my body would surrender, that my mind would slip into some kind of protective haze and block it out. But it didn’t. It clung to me—every ache, every breath, every step—as if it wanted to remind me that I was still here.

Still surviving.

I tightened my grip on the walker and pushed forward. One more step. Each movement was a battle. My legs trembled beneath me, unsteady and weak, but I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. There was too much at stake.

If anything could push me through this, it was the thought of another innocent soul being in danger because of me. Because of the choices I made. Because of the man I married. Because of the name I was born into.

Sinclair.

It used to mean legacy. Wealth. Prestige. Now it felt like a curse stitched into my skin, impossible to outrun.

I’d meant every word I said the day Bruce tried to take my life. Watching that little girl find strength for her younger sister lit a fuse in me I didn’t know existed. Didn’t know I needed.

When I said I was done being afraid, done with the crying, done letting someone else decide what happened in my life—I meant it.

So when Jaxson said Alex was up to something, it wasn’t fear that gripped me.

It was fury.

Not the kind that erupts all at once, but the kind that simmers. Quiet. Controlled. Dangerous. I didn’t know all the details yet, but I didn’t need to. I’d seen enough to know this wasn’t just about me anymore.

Someone else was in the crosshairs.

And if it was because of my name, because of the war my father left behind, then I wasn’t going to stay quiet. I wasn’t going to sit still and hope it passed.

Not again.

I took one step forward.

I never talked about the one case I lost as an attorney.

Diane Walker.