Page 241 of Scars of Fate

The pain in his face deepened.

“He sent Minser to finish the job.”

My anger went still.

“Minser killed her?”

“He tortured her for three days, trying to learn where I was.”

“She didn’t know,” Wynn whispered.

“No. She died protecting a man who had let her believe he was dead.”

My anger collapsed beneath the weight of his grief.

Ghost had carried something worse than regret.

He had proof that walking away hadn’t saved the woman he loved.

It had left her defenseless.

“I’m sorry,” Wynn whispered.

Ghost looked toward the dark cabin wall.

“So am I.”

No one spoke for several seconds.

Then he handed the tag back to me.

“After Melissa died, I stopped hiding. I began dismantling every part of Meridian I could reach. Safe houses. Shipping routes. Bank accounts.”

“Minser?”

“He disappeared before I could reach him.”

“And General Kane?”

“Untouchable without the Fate files.”

Adam folded his arms.

“You’ve had eight years. Why come back now?”

“Because Wynn found the Geneva copy.”

“How did you know?”

“I arranged for the file to reach her.”

Wynn stepped back.

“The wounded man from the extraction convoy.”

“He was my courier.”

“He gave me the drive without telling me who he was.”