Chapter 35 The Face That Lied First

• Some lies are told by enemies. The worst ones are told by those we loved… to protect us. Layla didn’t leave the command chamber after the man gave his answer.
• > “We evacuated everyone.”
• The words hung in the air like smoke after a bomb. She stared at him. Same voice. Same mannerisms. Same controlled cadence. But now… irreversibly wrong. He didn’t flinch. Didn’t check for her reaction. Didn’t ask why she’d asked. Because he didn’t know what he’d just confirmed. He wasn’t Eron. He was something else.