Morning came and Lily-Rose did not wait.Sienna was at the table with a cup in her hand. Reed was at the window. Cole was near the door. The east road was still closed. The bags were still light.Lily-Rose stood in front of her.“You said tomorrow. This is tomorrow. I want names. I want the real story.”Sienna set the cup down.“You want it because you’re jealous, angry, and tired of standing outside the center.”“I want it because you knew the house would send that man,” Lily-Rose said. “You knew the pattern. You hid that.”Reed did not turn away from the window this time. Cole stayed quiet and listened.Sienna looked at all three of them, then back at Lily-Rose.“The house I grew up near was called the Hale place. Not Jimmy’s. Different land. Same kind of power. They owned people through debt, work, and fear. My mother cooked for them. My father owed them. I learned early how a house like that closes a road without lifting a gun.”The name sat in the room.Lily-Rose felt her chest t
Last Updated : 2026-08-25 Read more