Game over.
His blood leaves a trail behind him, dark and gleaming under the moonlight, and for a moment I wonder if he understands what waits for him in the black water, if he knows that the ocean doesn’t forgive, that the sharks circling below can smell his blood already, that they are waiting for him like death itself.
Maddie turns her head slightly, not away, but enough that I can see her lashes tremble, and my chest tightens with a protective instinct so fierce I almost call my men back, almost spare her this sight, but then I stop myself, because she asked for this, she fought for this, she wanted the truth, and to deny her now would be to strip her of the justice she has claimed with her own hand