Chapter 11
The scandal ripped through New York’s elite circles like wildfire. The Delaney family, with their impeccable military heritage and social standing, watched their carefully cutuvated reputation crumble overnight.||
Authe Pentagon, where Elias had once been the golden boy, senior officers avoided eye contact in hallways while their wives whispered behind manicured hands. Even worse, their children had created a playground rhyme about “Crazy Delaney’s bloody wedding day that spread through private schools like a virus]
Elias’s commanding officer summoned him to his office, not bothering to rise when Elins entereil. The general sexpression remained granite hard as Glia stond at rigid attention, his uniform impeccable despite the chaos of his personal life ||
“Delaney,” the general began, his voice heavy with disappointment. “I always believed you were the most promising officer of your generation. He shook his head slowly. “Instead, you’ve proven yourself in be catastrophically reckless. You’ve made a mockery of this uniform and everything it represents.”
He slid a folder across the polished desk. “Your name was at the top of the promotion list for this quarter. I’ve personally removed it
Elias accepted the news with a wooden nod, his face expressionless. Let them strip me of rank entirely, he thought. If it would bring Charlotte back. Id surrender every medal, every commendation, every achievement without hesitation.
When he returned to his family’s estate that evening, his parents were waiting in the formal living room. The moment he stepped through the door, his father–a decorated retired general himself–crossed the room with surprising speed and delivered a stinging slap that rocked Elias’s head back
“You legally severed ties with Charlotte?” his father demanded, voice vibrating with hardly controlled fury.
Before Elias could respond his father continued. “Have you forgotten everything we taught you about honor? About loyalty?”
Do you even remember how Clayton Whitmore died? He threw himself on a grenade to save your worthless hide in Fallujah! And this is how you repay his sacrifice? By abandoning his daughter“]
Each accusation landed like physical blows, and Elias welcomed the pain. He deserved this and worse
“Scarlett needed a kidney,” he said, his voice hollow with self–loathing. “Charlotte was the only match. Her condition for donating was to legally separate from our family, so I signed the papers.”
His father curdsed his chest, momentarily speechless. “Are you selling me,” he finally managed, “that the kidney Scarlett had–the one you just had forcibly removed–was Charlotte?”
Dias nodded, unable to meet his father’s eyes.]
“My God,” his father whispered, staring at him as though seeing a stranger. “Listen to me very carefully, Elias. Charlotte Whitmore owes this family nothing. On
in contrary, we owe her a defit we can never repay. Her father gave his life for yours
His mother, who had been trying to calm his father, now turned on Hias with equal horror. “What kind of monster have you become?” she asked, her voice breaking “What did that poor girl endure that made her willing to give up an organ just to be free of you?” ||
liver donation years ago, her
The full weight of his orions crashed down on has like a physical low. Memories flooded back–Charlotte’s pale Lace after her li quiet acceptance of his cruelty, the way she had never unce complained despite everything he’d done to her
I never meant to burt her,” he said, the words sounding pathetically inadequate even to his own ears. “I just wanted her to stap loving me:“[]
Det them randeniui me, he ti
thought. It their disgust could soochow summon Charlotte back. I would stand here and take their judgment for eternity
That lets his parents home in a daze, his step, unsteady as though the ground beneath him had turned to quicksami ||
At the private hospital, Scarlett regaland top afraid of him for the first time. []
ness to land Lilas watchling her with cold, dead eyes. She immediately shrunk back against
the pillows, truly
She had never imagined he could be this ruthless having her kidney surgically removed without anesthesia after davering her deception Whatever affection. had rusted between them had clearly been incitirpatei
“What else have you Leon lying about is voler y
was flat, emotionless, though inside he was a maelstrom of rage and self loathing||
sintuves my further deceptions eventually. “When Charlotte fell down the stairs,” she whispered. “I pushed her ||
Scarlett trembled, knowing he would un
Something shapped inside Ilias. In
to permanently
In one swift movement, he had his hand around her throat, squeezing just enough to terrify but not enough to
daniner. The image of Charlotte numbling down those marble stairs–while he had reached for Scarlett instead–burned in his mind like acid
He couldnt believe the depths of her cruelty. If his love for Scarlet had once been all–consuming, his hatred now burned with equal intensity. Because of this woman, Charlotte had suffered. Because of this woman, Charlone was gone
In that moment, Pearlett saw death in his eyes and began sobbing, begging him to let go |
Just when she thought he might actually kill her, he released his grip, his voice arctic. “Killing you would be too merciful.]
Elias pulled out his phone and dialed a number. “Dr Ramirez? This is Claas Delaney Remember that Global Frontier Volunteers project we discussed? The ope in the Pero–Brazil border region?”
He listened for a moment, his eyes never leaving Scarlett’s terrified face.
“Yes, the uncontacted tribe study. The one with the rumored cannibalistic traditions.” He paused. “I have the perfect candidate for your language documentation team. She’s particularly suited for the shamanic medicine research component.
Another pause. “I understand the extreme risk classification. The potential for disease, getting lost in the rainforest, cultural misunderstandings, and hostile encounters doesn’t concerns me in the slightest.“]
This lips carved into a cold smile as scarlet began to sob harder. “How soon can you take her?”
