Ultimatums And Truths

Her words hung heavy in the air, a stark reminder of the cruelty and injustice that had befallen her family at the hands of their ruthless enemies.

“Oh my god,” I whispered as I took in the information. She could not be lying, she obviously could not. I could see the pain in her eyes. I could almost feel it, myself.

“My father was targeted by their thugs,” Fallon said, her voice barely above a whisper now. Her eyes were glossy, causing my heart to break. “He was brutally attacked, left for dead in the wreckage of his own mine. By some miracle, he survived, but he was never the same. The trauma…it changed him.”

Tears welled up in her eyes, and I instinctively reached out to grasp her hand in a gesture of comfort and solidarity. Despite the type of relationship that she and I had, at this moment, we were bound by her pain.

“If you don’t mind me asking, did your father return to work? Did he ever try to make the Kingston pay?”

She chuckled dryly, taking her hand out of my hold. “He’s