It felt like Heinz's world came crashing down all over again.
The walls he had built inside himself—stone by stone, lie by lie—crumbled in an instant.
All the days he had forced himself to move forward, to harden, to bury what little humanity he had left… undone with a single revelation.
And the worst part?
The memories returned.
They clawed back into his mind like jagged glass.
He remembered.
The day of the execution. The day of his Florian's execution.
He had spoken his final words, voice breaking even as he stood before the blade.
And now Heinz understood.
"I am pregnant… with your baby."
The words echoed in his skull like a death knell. His chest seized. His throat tightened.
Tears spilled down his face before he could stop them.
He remembered crying at Florian's grave, the rain soaking through his clothes as though the world itself was mourning.
