The helicopter banked west and levelled out, leaving the valley behind. Declan sat against the cabin wall with the preservation container held against his chest, both arms wrapped around it. He could feel the faint warmth coming through the casing, something alive inside it still holding on. He didn't let go of it. Below them the battlefield stretched out in every direction, dark and broken and vast. Fires burned at scattered points across the landscape, some of them small and isolated, others wide enough to light up the clouds above them orange. Artillery flashed silently in the far distance, too far to hear over the helicopter's engine. From up here the scale of it was clearer than it had been on the ground, the sheer amount of space that the war had consumed and continued to consume, kilometre after kilometre of land that had been turned into something no longer recognisable as the place it once was. Declan looked at it and then looked away. His legs had stopped shaking but the

Declan sat with the dark screen for a long time. Then his eyes filled. He didn't try to stop it. He was too tired and the room was empty and there was no reason to hold anything back. He just sat there and let it happen. He thought about the storage room. The thin mattress, the boxes stacked around him, the sound of Carlos moving freely through the house while he lay in the dark. He thought about all the nights he had spent wondering whether his real family even knew he was out there. Whether they had ever looked for him. Whether they cared. Now he knew. They had never stopped. His grandfather had woken up from years of darkness and the first thing out of his mouth was whether his grandson was safe. Not water. Not where am I. His grandson. Declan pressed the back of his hand against his eyes. After a while the tears stopped and something else settled in underneath them. Something that felt like a door he had been standing in front of his whole life finally opening. He knew wha

The car moved through the quiet streets and Declan watched the city for a moment before he spoke again."What about Carlos?" he asked. "And Tom and Clarke."Victoria shifted slightly in her seat. "Not good," she said. "The business is nearly gone. Nathan's blacklisting cut off almost every relationship they had built over the years. Suppliers, partners, clients, one by one they all walked away once word spread that the Pierce family wanted nothing to do with the Reyes name.""How close to gone?""Bankruptcy territory," Victoria said. "Tom has been selling assets to cover debts. The house might be next. Clarke has been reaching out to old business contacts personally, asking for favours, trying to find anyone willing to give them a contract or an investment. From what I've heard most of those calls haven't gone well."Declan said nothing."Carlos dropped out of university," Victoria continued. "Boston Metropolitan confirmed it. He's not been seen at many respectable places either. Peop

The auditorium was full by eight fifty-five. Declan stood at the side of the stage and looked out at it through a gap in the curtain. Hundreds of people filling the seats, more appearing on the large screens mounted on either side of the stage showing the video feeds from regional offices. The noise of it was low and uneven, the particular sound of a large group of people who were all worried about the same thing but hadn't yet decided how worried to be. He could see it in the way they sat. Some leaning toward each other, talking quietly. Others sitting straight and still, watching the stage. A few on their phones, probably reading whatever was already circulating internally about the overnight terminations. Victoria came to stand beside him. "Ready?" "Yes," he said. She walked out first. The auditorium quieted as she took the podium, the conversations dying down in sections as people noticed her. "Thank you all for being here this morning," she said. "I know many of you have qu

Declan tucked the thought about Laura away as they walked.It wasn't concern for her. It was more practical than that. She had spent weeks inside Nathan's world, his home, his conversations, probably things she wasn't supposed to hear. Now Nathan had thrown her away. People who got thrown away by someone like Nathan tended to be angry about it, and angry people talked.He would have someone look into where she was and how she was doing. Quietly.Georgina's parents were both at the door when they arrived. Mr. Harper stepped forward immediately with his hand out."Declan," he said. "We're glad you're back safely.""Thank you," Declan said, shaking it."We really mean it," Mrs. Harper added. "Georgina told us you were dealing with something serious. We've been thinking about you.""Everything worked out," Declan said.Mr. Harper cleared his throat. "I'd like to have you for dinner later this week," he said. "There are things I want to say to you properly, face to face. And some things I'