Chapter 44 Prove Your Loyalty

• The weight of ten lives sat heavy on my shoulders. It wasn’t just a number—it was ten families who would never see their fathers, brothers, or sons again. Ten people who had fought for a cause that wasn’t even theirs. They had died because of me. And now, I had to make it right.
• Luca barely looked up from his meal, as if the loss of his men was just another tally mark in his bloody empire. Maybe it was for him. Maybe he had lost so many over the years that ten more didn’t matter. But it mattered to me.
• I pushed my plate away, my appetite gone. “I’ll need a list of their names. And their families’ contacts.”