Lost & found: A Sister Reclaimed
Unavoidable truth that couldn't be denied or rationalized away.
Hale's expression didn't break into visible emotion.
But something behind it did, I could see it in his eyes.
Something small shifting.
But real and irreversible.
"Temporary setback," he said, already trying to reframe defeat. "Systems can be rebuilt."
I shook my head slowly, each movement deliberate. "No."
A beat of silence.
"Permanent. Once broken, never truly perfect again."
That word landed like a verdict in a trial, final and irreversible.
Because systems like his, built on assumptions of absolute control—