Page 141 of BounBound By Scars

So I did.

I wheeled forward, the room parting in stunned silence. I reached the console and rewound the video, scanning frame by frame until I found it.

Paused—then played.

“…your systems are tighter than your loyalties. We wouldn’t want another… complication.”

I looked back at them, the screen still frozen. “That’s it. That’s the message. He’s telling us we’re compromised. There’s a rat in Blackthorn.”

Zarek exhaled slowly. “I don’t think so. You’re seeing things that aren’t there. It’s just… a threat.”

I looked at him. No rage. Just heartbreak pressing behind my ribs.

“No,” I said softly. “That’s what he means. He’s saying oursystemsshould be tighter than ourloyalties. We have a rat. He’s not just threatening us. He saidanothercomplication. He’s pointing us toward at leastonepotential leak.”

No one said anything.

Pity. Doubt. Silence.

I let it sit.

Because I knew Kabir.

And I knew what he looked like when he was trying to scream through silence.

“Nowcan I mark him fucking rogue?”

Zane’s voice cut through.

“Zane—” Sebastian began.

“No. Just… listen, okay?” Zane said. “Weneedto mark him rogue. Whether he is or not doesn’t matter right now. That’s what theyexpectus to do.”

I hated how right he was.

Even if no one believed me, we had to play the part. Look fractured. Unstable. Like Kabir had truly turned.

Because if we were compromised, the rat needed to believe the damage was done. Even if the damage was real.

Zane glanced at me, still cold. “And if she is right—that’s all the more reason. The leak needs to think we’ve cut Kabir off.”

I gave him a small, grateful look. He didn’t return it. Just stared like I was a piece of evidence he wasn’t sure how to categorize.

“I know you don’t believe me,” I said quietly. “None of you do. But—”

“It’s not that we don’t,” Logan interrupted gently. “It’s just… we can’t afford to let this throw off our entire operation.”

He stepped closer. Steady. Soft-spoken, but sure. “You said Kabir’s last line was a hidden message, right?”

I nodded.

“Then we assume we have a rat. We look for them. Quietly. But until then…” He hesitated. “Zane’s right. For all intents and purposes, Kabir’s gone rogue.”

It didn’t feel like dismissal coming from Logan. It felt like strategy. Like survival.

But the silence from the rest of the room was deafening.

No agreement. No support. Just eyes cast down or away.

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