Chapter 23 · The Body He Buried

"You signed my death order." Elara's broken voice hissed through the archive. Then the recording cut out, leaving Adrian's name hanging in the air.

I spun on him so fast the marriage link flared beneath my ribs.

Adrian caught my wrist before I reached the console. His fingers locked around me—warm, hard, impossible to ignore. The contract burned through both our skin.

"Let go."

"Mara—"

"You signed it." I shoved at his chest. "Don't say my name like that fixes anything."

The archive shuddered. Glass panels flashed with the same frozen image of my mother, her face split by static. Behind her, a black seal pulsed over the memory feed.

Marlow's judgment code.

Adrian's grip tightened. Not enough to hurt. Enough to stop me from ripping the console open.

"The order was forged," he said.

"Then prove it."

"I'm trying to keep you alive."

"By hiding my mother's last memory? By stealing the case? By letting the Tribunal strip my license while you stood there and watched?"

His jaw clenched. "You think I watched?"

"I know you did. I saw you."

"You saw what Marlow wanted you to see."

I laughed once. It came out sharp. "That's convenient.