‘Callie, calm down,’ Wendy said. ‘I’m sure he only wants what’s best for—’‘He is a b*stard!’ Callie cried out breathlessly. ‘Did he think that keeping me in the dark is best for me?’Wendy handed her a tissue. ‘I don’t like it, either, but I can understand where he’s coming from.’‘Where is the evidence?’ Callie wiped her eyes. ‘What evidence does General Conway have to prove Elias is guilty of treason?’‘I don’t have all the details, but Lemuel said they found weapons at one of Shadowfire’s hideouts. Weapons made by Engalia.’‘That doesn’t prove Elias was the one who sold the weapons to them.’‘I know, but there’s something else, something more…d*mning.’‘What is it?’Wendy lowered her eyes. ‘A confession.’‘What?’‘General Conway has a confession, signed by Elias. It stated that he admitted to having colluded with Inga from Shadowfire and that he had done harm against the country.’‘How’s that possible?’ Callie was incredulous.Elias would never have signed something so ridiculous.

Callie and Elias had been through so much— from their impromptu marriage to the shared military journey at Valour Ridge Military Academy.Happiness was intertwined with tough times, turning every moment into the most dazzling one in Callie’s life.Throughout this journey, her love for Elias deepened, making it impossible for her to detach.Love, as always, had a way of consuming and losing oneself in its depths.Jamison’s face turned pale at the unexpected confession, and he loosened his grip on Callie’s hand.‘Elias,’ Callie called out, but there was no response.Anxious, she groped around for the man’s hand.‘Callie, I...I’m not Elias.’ Jamison withdrew his hand. ‘Look at me. I’m not him.’Callie struggled to open her eyes, only to find Elias had vanished.Jamison sat on the edge of her bed, looking pained.She shrank back. ‘Where’s Elias?’The fog in her brain finally cleared as memories flooded back.‘I remember now,’ she muttered. ‘He traded his freedom for mine. That’s why he ca

‘I’d love to marry Mindy soon,’ Dylan said. ‘But there are matters to settle here.’He lowered his voice. ‘Inga is dead, but Elias is still around. General, I’d like to take over his case.’Carl frowned. ‘Why?’He’d already entrusted Mindy to cook up more evidence to build the case against Elias.‘Because I want to be the one to take him down,’ Dylan said earnestly. ‘I’ve despised him for so long. We were enemies all the way back at Valour Ridge, and he always thinks he’s better than me. Now that he’s going down, I’d like the opportunity to knock him down a peg or two. I owe it to the scars he gave me.’Mindy, unaware of their past conflict, listened in surprise at the revelation of Dylan’s deep-seated animosity towards Elias.The mere thought of Dylan being bullied by Elias made her mad. ‘Elias hit you?’‘It was a fight. I lost.’‘But you are so much stronger than him!’Dylan lied, ‘He’s General McCullough’s protégé. Plenty of folks at the academy were willing to help him.’‘Dad, Eli

In the morning, Harriet visited Callie.After making sure there was no one else in the ward, Harriet whispered, ‘News from Elias.’Callie’s eyes brightened. ‘You saw him?’‘Not me. Dylan. Then he told me what he and Elias talked about.’Callie gripped Harriet’s hand. ‘What did he say? How is he? Is he okay?’‘He’s holding up. Lost some weight, but still in good spirits.’Callie’s eyes turned red. ‘That’s good.‘Hey, don’t cry.’ Harriet wiped away Callie’s tears with her fingers. ‘Elias wouldn’t want you to worry about him.’‘I can’t help it.’ Callie shook her head.Harriet then passed Elias’s message to her.Callie nodded, hugging her. ‘Thank you, Harriet. Thank you so much.’‘Hey, you don’t have to thank me. Elias is my friend, too. Almost like a brother. I want to get him out of there as much as you do.’‘Please tell Dylan I owe him.’‘I will.’As they talked, Harriet wondered where Dylan was, and what he was doing.He said he had a plan to infiltrate Conway’s office, but how?***A

Though she enjoyed having fun with different men, Mindy had always been careful, and nothing serious had ever happened.Except for that one time with that guy in the airport bar.A little carelessness led to her being impregnated, and now she had to suffer.Mindy glanced at the paper bag from the infirmary containing painkillers, syringes, needles, and cotton pads.She tossed away the painkillers and picked up the injection kit.She planned to extract the serum loaded with the new virus and inject it into Harriet, as soon as she found a chance to do it.With no antidote, Harriet would age rapidly and die of organ failure within a year.By then, Mindy would be long gone and no one could connect her to Harriet’s death.***‘Achoo!’Harriet sneezed at her desk.Was someone bad-mouthing her? she wondered.Probably Mindy.A soldier knocked on her door and walked in briskly. ‘Lieutenant Colonel Daniels.’‘Yes?’ She turned her gaze from the documents to the soldier.‘We’ve just received a cl