Chapter 21: Chosen Not Chained.

Vincent Virenson.

The silence after betrayal is louder than gunfire.

It wasn’t Marco’s smirk or even Dominic’s smug amusement that cut deepest—it was the way Violet’s eyes trembled when she looked at me, as if wondering how many more pieces of me she’d have to carry before I shattered completely.

“Vincent,” she whispered, her voice trembling, “don’t—don’t look at me like that. Like you’re already gone.”

I clenched my jaw. I ...