Chapter 16
Wednesday late morning
Bay was already inside the interview room, seated on the bench. Sabre stepped in first. Vale followed, closing the door behind them, and they sat in the folding chairs on their side of the plexiglass.
Bay’s eyes locked on Sabre again.
For a moment, no one spoke.
Then Bay said, “Alone.”
“No,” Sabre said.
The girl’s jaw tightened. “I’ll talk, but just to you.”
Sabre shook her head. “That’s not happening.”
“You said you wanted the truth.”
“I do.”
“Then send him out.”
Sabre didn’t even glance at Vale.
“Your attorney stays or I leave.”
Bay’s eyes flicked toward Vale for the first time, like he’d just appeared. “I don’t trust him.”
“You may not trust him now, but you better start soon because he’s the one representing you.”
“I don’t want him.”
“That’s not how this works.”
Bay’s voice rose slightly. “Then make it work.”
Sabre’s tone didn’t change. “I can’t do that. I’m not your attorney.”
Bay shook her head hard, frustrated now. “You’re supposed to be.”
“You keep saying that,” she said. “But you haven’t given me a single reason why.”
Bay stared at her. “You know why.”
“No,” Sabre said. “I don’t.”
Bay’s eyes flickered. “Because you promised.”
Sabre held her gaze. “I don’t make promises I don’t remember.”
Bay flinched.
Vale shifted his weight subtly, just enough to anchor the room. “Bay,” he said calmly, “you need to understand that if you don’t start talking, no one can help you. Not me. Not her. No one.”
Bay’s hands clenched at her sides. “You don’t understand.”
“Then explain it.”
“I can’t.”
“Then I can’t help you.”
“You can,” she said, softer now. “You just won’t.”
Sabre’s voice stayed steady. “I won’t do it your way,” she said. “That’s different.”
Bay swallowed. “You’re the only one who—”
“No,” Sabre cut in, not harsh, but firm. “I’m not.”
Bay shook her head again. “Yes, you are.”
Vale cut in. “I’m your attorney,” he said. “Right now, I’m the one standing between you and a conviction. You need to work with me.”
Bay’s composure cracked and she pleaded with Sabre. “You don’t understand what happens if you don’t—”
“Then tell me,” Sabre said, her tone sharper. “If you want me involved at all, you start talking. Fully. Right now.”
Bay’s shoulders dropped. It wasn’t surrender, but close. She was on the edge of saying something that might finally matter.
Sabre didn’t push. She waited. Vale did the same. Silence stretched.
Finally, Bay turned her arm over exposing her wrist. “Okay,” she said. “You want something? Look at this.”
Sabre stared at the small, faded mark on the inside of her wrist that looked like a symbol. It had a straight vertical line with a curved hook curling upward at the lower left and a matching curve on the right side, turned downward.
Sabre leaned in. “Where did you get that?”
Bay pulled her arm back, but not all the way. “You’ve seen it before.”
Sabre’s brow tightened. “No.”
Bay shook her head. “You just don’t remember.”
Vale leaned in just enough to see. “What is it?”
Bay ignored him. “He uses it,” she said. “When he wants to show that someone’s his.”
“Who?”
Bay hesitated. “I was told you’d recognize it.”
Sabre felt something in her memory shift. “What does it mean?” she asked.
Bay swallowed. “It means I belong to him.”
Ethan’s expression hardened. “Who is he?”
Bay finally looked at him, not with trust, not with fear, just acknowledgment. “You’re not asking the right question.”
Vale held her gaze. “Then help me ask the right one.”
“You don’t get to.” She shifted back to Sabre. “I was told that if you saw it, you’d know this isn’t over.”
“What isn’t over?”
The girl sat back, putting distance between them again. “The part you didn’t finish.”
“Are you talking about Hannah?” Sabre asked.
Bay didn’t answer. But she didn’t look confused either.
“Are you Hannah?”
“No,” Bay scoffed.
Sabre wasn’t sure she believed her. “What is your name?”
“Bay Mercer.”
“You said you’d tell me something.”
“I just did.”
“That’s not enough.”
“It’s enough to keep you here.”
Sabre studied her. Bay didn’t look away. Didn’t break. She just held it, daring her. Sabre knew she wasn’t getting any more information right now.
She stood.
“Are you going to be my lawyer?” Bay asked.
“That’s up to the judge now. She’s not happy with your lack of cooperation.”