Page 94 of Shattered Empire (Shattered World)

Now it was life or death. If Elias ever found out about you, he would have forced me to end the pregnancy.

With some help, I escaped again.

I went back to your father, but he had already moved on.

With the one who betrayed me.

She wasn’t who she appeared to be, my heart.

Over the years, I have struggled to find out how she was involved, and I think I finally found it.

The connection.

If only I had put it together sooner.

I found the old barn. The one exactly like Elias’s.

They train girls there to be sex slaves to wealthy men and women.

But she was more than that. She was a plant. A fake.

At the same time, she was so real.

Not everyone is who they appear to be, and you’ll find that those who appear the weakest are, in fact, the strongest.

I never expected her to betray me. But she did.

And now they are here.

Remember, I love you.

Forever.

Your father’s name is Liam Kavanaugh. His father was my father’s right-hand man. He is a good man, my star.

Find him. Tell him my story.

And one day, I hope you find a man just like him.

A mix of monster and prince.

A warrior.

A partner.

I love you, Mo Réalta.

Remember what I’ve told you and—

“Run!” Kristian shouted next to me, drawing me out of the reverie my mother’s letter had pulled me into.

There was a sudden explosion. A cracking sound rent the air, and the next thing I knew, he was tackling me to the ground, and everything went black.

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

Asharp sting of pain radiated through my chest as I came to.

My eyes fluttered furiously, like butterflies trapped in a glass cage, fighting against an invisible weight. I coughed and sputtered, the pain increasing as I struggled to take a breath. My chest felt like it was caught in the grasp of a boa constrictor. The cracks in my lips split even wider, blood pooling in my mouth as a hoarse cry rose in my throat.

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