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A slim woman with olive skin bustled into the operating room. “My apologies for the delay, Ms. Ainsley. Let’s get started.”

“Wait—”

“It’s fine,” Hamilton said to me. “I’ll come check on you when you wake up, okay?”

“But—”

My protests didn’t matter. They administered the anesthetic for the surgery, and my eyelids drooped. The last thing I remembered was Hamilton closing the door behind him.

When I awoke a couple hours later, the first thing I noticed was the restoration of my hearing. My left ear still throbbed, but was otherwise completely functional. The pain in my feet had dulled to a barely noticeable soreness. Fatigue still weighed heavily on me, however, and I struggled to keep my eyes open.

Though the shades were drawn low, it was pitch black outside—probably the middle of the night. Still, Hamilton was slumped in an armchair in the far corner of my hospital room, fast asleep. It surprised me that he was still there. His presence didn’t soothe the constant, horrible ache in my chest that’d taken up residence since I left John, but at least it made me feel slightly less alone. I’d take whatever small comfort I could get until I was back in my husband’s arms again.

With nothing to do and nowhere to go, I fell back into sleep. When I opened my eyes again, morning light was filtering through the window shade. Unlike earlier, however, Hamilton’s chair was vacant and I was alone. I still felt tired from the anesthesia, so I dozed until a nurse came to check on me. After her morning rounds, Hamilton still hadn’t returned. Instead, to my dismay, Julius appeared in the doorway, looking stiff and formal in his pressed suit.

Then again, he always looks that way, I thought.

“I trust your stay here has been to your satisfaction,” Julius said crisply, taking a seat in the armchair. It wasn’t a question.

Still in bed wearing only a hospital gown, I felt vulnerable and exposed. I hiked the covers higher on my chest—a poor shield against Julius’s piercing glare, but the only one I currently had.

“Yes,” I replied, just as formally. “My injuries have been tended to. I feel well enough to return to my duties.”

“Glad to hear it,” he said, though he didn’t sound like it. “You’ll understand if we have some questions about the circumstances that led you to the White Rose garrison.”

I swallowed hard, steeling myself. I’d known this was coming, and I’d prepared mentally to put on the performance of a lifetime, but actually delivering it was another thing.

“Of course.” I bit my lip and hesitated a little for effect. I thought of John to make tears come to my eyes. “Forgive me. It’s…still raw. I was terrified.”

Julius’s eyes contracted the slightest bit. “Naturally. They’re rather nasty pests, aren’t they? What was their plan?”

“To ransom me, I believe,” I answered, this time without hesitation. “After the bomb went off, I was chased by the Order and the White Rose, onto the upper floor. I attempted to defend myself but they captured me and threw a bag over my head. They took me to the garrison and kept me imprisoned while they decided the best way to make contact with you.”

He considered me, and I took a couple sharp intakes of breath, as though fighting strong emotion. In truth, I was…just not the one he thought.

“It’s interesting,” Julius said silkily, “because when I reviewed the security footage from the stacks, there appears to be just one man who apprehends you. He takes you into one of the study rooms. Unfortunately, there are no cameras in the study rooms, but you stayed in there for several minutes before you followed him out. Certainly, you were not dragged out. So, what happened in those minutes?”

My heart pounded hideously in my ears. This was the moment that would clinch whatever opinion he had going forward. I had to strike exactly the right tone…even if I abhorred the lie I was about to tell.

“When the d-door closed,” I stammered, for effect, “h-he was just…everywhere. He pinned me to the table and threatened to kill me. Then…”

A long pause while I fought tears—real ones, but not for the reason he thought. I embraced them. It was the only way to sell this.

“And then what?” Julius pressed softly.

I took another moment to swipe at my eyes.

“He…he f-forced himself on me,” I replied, almost in a whisper. The words felt like bile in my throat. I hated pretending that my protective, gentle husband would ever hurt me. “I was too afraid to refuse after that, and as soon as we were out the door, he and several others grabbed me and put the bag over my head.”

Julius fixed me with a piercing stare, and I forced myself to meet his gaze. The silence felt deafening before he finally spoke.

“I am sorry to hear it,” he said, though he didn’t sound sorry. “Fortunately for you, it seems his stamina was lacking, since it was over so quickly.”

I wanted to vomit at that comment, but instead, I merely gave a short nod and cast my gaze down at the bedspread.

“What were their demands, once you arrived at the camp?”

“I wasn’t sure, exactly,” I said, deliberately keeping my eyes averted. “But it seemed like they wanted to extract more supplies. Perhaps even more weapons.”