Page 191 of The Order

The man who remains isn’t just any Official. No. Ryan was very special to the Order. This is the man who helped create the chips. As far as I know, he oversees all updates and patches to the devices, working in seclusion, guarded heavily by security at all times.

“As for the chips that remain in her companions, sir?” Ryan questions.

Xavier smiles wickedly. His legs crossed, his thumb trailing over his lip, licking clean the blood that stains his skin.

“Keep them on. I want to keep tabs on where my little Blackburn ends up,” Xavier says, his possessive claim on Forest enough to make my blood boil.

“Anything else, Commander?”

“That will be all,” Xavier says, focusing his attention back on me, dismissing Ryan with a wave.

He bows, stepping over the body of the man he’d come in with, leaving much quicker than he had arrived. As the door swings open, a gust of air billows into the office, and I recoil at the slight adjustment of the white tarp concealing the body underneath. I hold back the stifled gag that makes its way up my throat. My husband's face is ashen, all life drained from his eyes.

My heart shatters, the shards slicing my insides into shreds. My hand flies up, cupping my mouth so tightly I can feel my nails dig into the soft flesh of my cheek.

Xavier glances at Andrew, his hand waving, forcing back the tarp to reveal his body even more. I ready myself to look away, feeling my body slam back down into the chair, forced down by my thighs with Xaver’s knees. Drawing in a deep breath, he grabs my chin, forcing me to take in my husband’s lifeless body.

“Funny how easily a life can be taken, isn't it?” Xavier questions, clenching my chin tighter. “How easily it be manipulated,” he finishes, his expression filled with admiration.

“You fucking vile creature-”

“Katiana. No need for cruel language,” Xavier beckons, clamping his hand over my mouth. “I'd hate to have to kill you, too, and given your similarities to her, I know I'd find it that much more unpleasant,” he hisses, his fixation on my daughter something I don’t understand.

“What do you want with her? What did you want with us? Why murder my husband? He was like you!”

“You see, if I were able to tell you, life would be much easier for me,” he begins, touching his bruised throat. “But sadly, you ensured that wouldn’t be possible-”

“I have no idea who you are,” I plea, his eyes narrowing at the response.

“You think it's that simple?” Xavier questions, lowering his hand from my chin, his knees easing up from my legs. “If anything, I’m being lenient after what you did to my family,” Xavier says, his jaw clenched in frustration.

“Your family? But you're from-”

“Beyond the ward? Yes, my family was from beyond the ward, sent here with a promise of a brighter future. Instead, we hand my sister off to you for a checkup, and next thing I know, my parents are being forced to forget she and I ever existed as they hauled off her lifeless body and locked me away to become their personal government poster child,” he hisses, my mind racing through every Expulsion I have regrettably committed.

One child sticks out to me.

The girl with the blonde curls.

“Your sister was Lily,” I recall, his face tense at saying her name out loud.

“Lily Evermoore,” I clarify, his head gently nodding.

“That was my last name before they changed it to Hayes,” he admits.

“They?” I question, his head gently shaking.

“You really don’t remember?” Xavier pushes, my eyes glancing back to my husband.

“You harassed my family and murdered my husband over a routine Expulsion carried out by a society that you now run?”

"I did not kill Andrew, Katiana.”

The lives he’s stolen mercilessly fill my head. My husband's final moments are ones I can only imagine were filled with fear. Kicking him away from me, he stumbles back, the outrage I feel taking over me.

“I don’t fucking believe you! Your word means nothing to me, you piece of shit. Look me in the eyes and know hers will always be filled with as much hate for you as mine have now-”

He grabs my hair, forcing my head back to look at him. He remains gentle in his touch, making sure not to pull too abrasively.

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