Page 58 of Traitor

Silence.

Then —

"WHAT?!" she shouts, making the damn walls shake.

"I don't fucking know! She made a deal. The Feds put her in witness protection. New name, new life. Gone."

She inhales sharply, nostrils flaring. Eyes misting over. "Layla told me everything you did to her. Everything. You branded her a traitor. You handed her to a man who tortured her. And you thought she was just going to sit around and wait for you to show up with your half-assed apology? Why didn't you go to her sooner?"

I exhale, defeated. "The feds were watching her constantly. And then I got fucking arrested! I'm working on finding her. Luca Romano is helping. He can find anyone."

Mama shakes her head. "Peanut..."

I freeze. Mama hasn't called me that since I was ten.

Then, softly, with disappointment so deep it cuts me to the bone—

"You are a fucking idiot."

My head snaps up. Mama never swears.Ever.

My chest tightens. "Mama..."

She sighs, rubbing her temples. "That girl? She won't want to be found. And even if you do find her, she won't want to hear even one word you have to say. You broke her, Kane. You destroyed her. And you think she's just waiting for you to show up and fix it?"

I shake my head. No. No, I won't accept that. "I can't let her go."

Mama's eyes soften just a fraction, but her next words hit like a bullet to the chest.

"I don't think you'll have a choice, Kane."

Part two

I'm back on the whiskey.

I don't think I'll ever stop drinking again. Not after this.

David sent me the audio of Ely's testimony. Before hanging up the phone, he told me they verified every last thing she said. Some of it before the raid on the Riders and some of it after. I pressed play thinking I was prepared, but nothing,nothing, could've braced me for the sound of her voice. Soft. Hollow. Broken.

She told them everything.

Every fucked-up thing that ever happened to her inside the Riders' clubhouse. Every night she spent trapped, every bruise, every betrayal. All of it. And I just sat there, listening, my chest caving in, my lungs refusing to work.

She even told them about me. About the night I branded her like she was nothing. About how I stood there, let her plead, let her break, and still I didn't stop.

The puzzle pieces are all on the table now. Nothing is hidden anymore.

And the worst part? She will hate me forever.

But I'm still going after her.

One year since the betrayal

It's been a fucking year. A YEAR. And Ely is nowhere.

Not even Luca Romano could find her. I threw every resource, every contact, every goddamn trick I had at this. Nothing.

I even sent Ghost on the hunt. The entire country.

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