Chapter 35

Keres wakes in daylight with Ace asleep nearby and slips into the hallway, reflecting on the safety the Morettis had compared to her foster years. A child’s scream draws her to a library where Lorenzo comforts his daughter, Raven, with the mantra that warriors conquer fear. Triggered by the words, Keres spirals into panic.

Kat arrives, steadies Keres, and leaves at Lorenzo’s request. Keres then remembers being rescued from a van’s trunk years earlier, identifying Lorenzo’s voice as the one that promised safety. They connect this revelation to their blood tie, acknowledging they are half siblings.

Keres presses Lorenzo to help find the last man responsible for her and Phoenix’s trauma. Lorenzo recounts how, after rescuing the girls, he, Max, and Dante delivered brutal retribution to the buyer in the woods, making him suffer rather than killing him quickly. He asks what vengeance will change, and Keres insists it can at least prevent further harm.

When Lorenzo asks about Keres’s own dream, she admits she wants to create a lasting refuge for kids like her and Phoenix and women like her mother—a place that is more than a shelter. Lorenzo is receptive and notes his wife would be interested. They trade light banter about “smart-mouthed” sisters, and Keres briefly feels a fragile sense of belonging.