Chapter 156

• Steven’s POV
• Fear coiled around my chest like a tightening noose as I was ushered into the dimly lit room. The men flanking me made it clear—resistance would be met with swift and merciless consequences. And if I so much as considered defying them, it wouldn’t be me who suffered the worst of it. It would be Elijah.
• The thought alone made my blood run cold. Elijah was my little brother, my responsibility. I had promised to always protect him, but now, that promise felt as fragile as glass, ready to shatter at the whims of the man who stood before me.