JAXSON
Ryder’s words hit me harder than the bullet ever did.
“Dante betrayed Dad first.”
The room went still. Like every sound got trapped in the air.
I felt my heart stop. Actually, stop. For a second, nothing in my body remembered how to work.
Ryder looked tense, angry, like the truth was poison stuck in his throat. Cole stood stiff beside him, jaw locked, eyes flicking between all of us. Nova gasped behind him, hand flying to her mouth.
Then Ryder said it.
“Dante had an affair with Aunt Remi.”
Nova’s gasp cracked the room. “What!?”
But I didn’t look at her. My head was already turning—slow, heavy, like my neck was made of iron.
Tessa.
She stood frozen, eyes wide, breath stuck in her chest. Fear covered her face so clearly that it made my stomach twist. Her hands were shaking.
