⚡ Chapter 16 –
The smell of gunpowder hung heavy in the air.
Jace's knees buckled, his hand clutching his chest as he crumpled to the ground.
My heart pounded so hard I could hear it in my ears. "No… no…"
The shooter stepped forward, slow, deliberate, like they wanted me to see them.
The moonlight slid across their face—
And my breath caught.
It was my mother.
"Mom?" My voice came out as a broken whisper.
Her eyes were cold, unrecognizable. "Move away from him, Valerie."
I shook my head. "What are you doing?! That's Jace!"
"That," she said, her tone like ice, "is the man who was sent to destroy you. And Ethan…" she shot him a razor-sharp look, "…isn't who you think he is either."
Ethan didn't flinch. "So you finally decided to come out of the shadows."
"You've both lied to her," she snapped, never lowering the gun. "But I'm the only one here who's telling the truth now."
Jace coughed, blood on his lips. "Don't… listen to her…"
I stood frozen between them, my pulse racing. My mother—sweet, overprotective, gentle—was holding a gun like she'd done it a hundred times before.
"Valerie," she said again, voice trembling this time. "Come with me. Before you learn the real reason your father disappeared."