Chapter 85: Lucy's Brave Mistake

The trouble began with something small enough to ignore and dangerous enough to matter.

Lucy bites Marcus and runs, turning courage into danger as shots strike the terminal windows.

Claire understood that the next choice would be remembered long after the explanation. Nothing between them was simple now. Attraction lived beside anger; tenderness stood beside evidence. Every kind act raised the same dangerous question: was this change, or merely fear wearing a better suit?

Claire shields Lucy while Margaret deliberately gives a false account key that triggers a federal alert.

"You wanted insurance, Marcus. I made myself the alarm."

The moment did not repair what came before. It did, however, alter what might come after.

Marcus drags Claire onto the last ferry and cuts the line.