My uncle's medicine had been cut off for seven days. When he coughed, his lungs rattled with what I thought was bloody foam.
But Xavier had only reddened his eyes, gritted his teeth, disarmed me, and shoved me out the door.
It turned out he didn't refuse because he wanted to—he refused because he had to.
Sebastian sneered, voice cutting through the room. "Listen well. Until Stella returns from the Capital, no one helps Savannah Simmons. I don't care if she kneels, begs, or dies at your feet—you do not look at her. Not once."
"Stella's depression has only just improved. Savannah's five-year punishment cannot be shortened by a single day. Anyone who upsets Stella answers to me."
Dead silence suffocated the room.
Finally, someone murmured, "General, aren't you afraid Savannah will find out the truth and her heart will turn cold?"
Sebastian let out a bark of laughter.
"Her heart turn cold? I raised her. I gave her life—what is this minor grievance compared to that? Stella is different. She has no family, no one to rely on but us. She's suffered enough. It's only right I prioritize her."