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Theo rises halfway. “Alive?”

“Yes. One of his own men shot him through the fog. He’s at the hospital under guard. Surgery is evaluating the wound, but they expect him to make it.”

Pepper’s eyes widen. “One of his own men shot him?”

“He was aiming at Theo.”

Her fingers tighten around Theo’s hand. “And the shooter?”

“In custody. The rest of the Saints we found are contained. We’re still sweeping the cemetery and service roads.”

“What about Dr. Sawyer?”

“BESTF agents are questioning her now.”

Pepper’s expression tightens. “Was she arrested?”

“She’s being questioned. We got access to Crossroads’ records and devices. The drug inventories are being secured. They’re trying to separate legitimate patient care from GatorX research and Saints access.”

“Did she order this?”

“We don’t know yet.”

Pepper looks unconvinced.

Wes crouches near her. “She warned you to leave the property. She’s not innocent, but she gave us time.”

Honey hands Pepper a drink. “What matters right now is that you rest and heal. Drink this.”

Pepper takes it. “Yes, ma’am.”

Theo looks at Pepper. “What do you need?”

She studies the people around us. Then the cemetery beyond them.

“I need to tell you what happened.” Pepper takes a slow breath.

Scarlet reaches for Pepper’s hand. “It can wait.”

“No. You need to hear this.” Pepper shakes her head before taking a moment to gather herself. “The release route existed before the Everlasting Pack. Susannah and her pack didn’t create it. They tried to use it.”

She explains in pieces. First the old channel road that predates the Everlasting Pack. Then the witness stones and the roles. The walker. The holder. The witness. She tells them how Susannah’s pack failed because fear made them reach for one another at the wrong moment. How grief and bond pain poured into the land. And how the route twisted around that failure until Sweetheart Haven began mistaking never letting go for everlasting love.

Even Junie goes quiet.

Pepper looks at me. “We released Ezra.” Then she looks toward the graves. “But I don’t think we broke the town’s curse.”

Scarlet pales.

“What?” Roman asks.

Pepper looks toward the old channel. “Because the release fixed what was trapped in Ezra’s bond. It didn’t undo the generations of strange effects already spread through the land. The bell, the false voices, Scarlet’s visions—those existed before Ezra ever started fading.”

Scarlet’s eyes stay on Pepper. “That’s why it could show me things.”

Pepper nods slowly. “I think so.”

“The false paths. The voices. The way I could tell when the swamp was lying to me during the Love Stone investigation.”