Avery sighed, kneeling to meet his eye level. “Oh, sweetheart. I know this is hard to understand, but your mother—”
“She’s not my mother,” Mavin snapped. “You keep saying that, but she is. She raised me. She was there when no one else was.”
A flicker of irritation passed over Avery’s face, but she smoothed it over quickly. “That woman lied to you, Mavin. She manipulated you. She wanted to hurt us.”
Mavin’s hands trembled. “That’s not true.”
Gavin, who had been standing quietly by the door, finally spoke. “You need to let her go.”
Mavin turned, his blue eyes burning. “If she’s a traitor, why do I remember her being the only one who ever loved me?”
The room went still.
Avery’s lips pressed into a thin line, her fingers curling at her sides. She turned to Gavin, expecting him to say something—to tell Mavin he was wrong.
But Gavin said nothing. Instead, he turned and walked away.
Zach and I sat in silence, the burner phone still clutched in my hands. Every second felt like an eternity as I waited for another message, anything to tell me Mavin was still safe.
Then, the screen flickered.
A new message appeared—but this time, it wasn’t from Mavin.
A chill ran down my spine as I read the words.