Page 141 of Boulder's Weight

"Because how much you cooperate determines how painful the rest of your short life will be," Axel says bluntly.

I flinch at the words, though I knew what was coming.

Part of me still remembers Benji as my big brother, the one who taught me to ride a bike, who made pancakes on Sunday mornings when Mom was too sick to get out of bed.

But that Benji is long gone, replaced by this empty-eyed stranger who sits before us.

"Let me guess," Benji says, looking around the table. "You think torture will make me talk? That I'll break under pain?" He laughs, the sound hollow. "Our father taught us better than that."

"You killed Craig," I say, unable to stay silent anymore.

All eyes turn to me, but I keep my focus on Benji. "He was trying to help us. To do the right thing."

"There's no right or wrong in family business," Benji replies, his gaze boring into mine. "Only loyalty. Craig forgot that. Sam forgot that. And you, Cady—you were the first to betray us."

"I stopped amonster," I say, rising to my feet even though Boulder has his hand on me, trying to keep me seated. "I stopped him from hurting more children."

Benji's face contorts with rage. "You destroyed everything he built! Everything that was meant to be ours!"

"An empire built on suffering," I shoot back. "Is that what you wanted your legacy to be, Benj? Is that what Mom would have wanted for you?"

The mention of our mother hits him like a slap in the face.

For a fraction of a second, I see something human flicker in his eyes.

"Don't talk about her," he says, his voice dropping dangerously low. "You don't get to use her against me."

"She would be disgusted by what you've become," I continue, moving closer as Boulder's hand moves up my arm. "By what Dad made you into. She loved us, Benji. All of us. She wanted us to be good people."

"And look where being good got you," he sneers. "Running for your life, hiding behind bikers for protection. At least I'm not a coward."

"No," Sam says, joining me. "You're just Dad's little fucking puppet. You always were. Never strong enough to think for yourself, to be your own man."

Benji lunges forward, but the cuffs hold him back. "Iammy own man!" he roars. "Everything I've done, I've done for the family!"

"The family?" I ask quietly. "Or for Dad's approval? The approval he never gave any of us, not really."

Something breaks in Benji's expression, a crack in the mask he's worn for so long.

In that moment, I see the damaged boy beneath the monster—the child who never recovered from our mother's death, who was shaped by our father's cruel hands into a weapon.

"You want to know where your prospect is?" he asks, his voice suddenly weary. "Sally has her. Using her as insurance against the club. And Andrés..." He laughs bitterly. "Andrés is already dead, if Sally's plan worked. She never intended to share power with him. He was just a means to an end."

"Which is?" Amara asks sharply.

"Destroying your club," Benji says simply. "Starting with the Mexican charter, then circling back to Vegas, then Montana. She's been planning this for years, gathering intel, making connections. My partnership with her was just another piece of her plan."

"Where is Lashes being held?" Amara presses.

Benji considers for a moment, then sighs. "Sally has an estate outside the city. Heavily guarded, but that's where she'll be keeping your prospect, assuming she's still alive and Sally hasn’t decided to move her."

Boulder moves forward, standing protectively beside me. "And why should we believe you?"

Benji's eyes shift to me. "Because despite everything, I never wanted this for Cady. For any of us. This was Dad's vendetta, not mine. And I'm tired of carrying it for him."

The admission stuns me.

Is this a trick? Another manipulation?

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