Chapter 118

Ramon POV

I stood in the snow, watching the helicopter’s lights disappear into the darkness, taking my entire world with it. The sound of the rotors faded until there was nothing but wind and the muffled voices of police officers securing the scene.

My hands were shaking. I looked down and saw I was still holding Ollie’s watch—the dinosaur watch I’d given him for his birthday, now cracked and covered in his blood. The screen was dark, battery finally dead after calling out for help that had taken too long to arrive.

I’d been too late.

The thought crashed over me like a wave. I’d promised to protect them. Had looked Lake in the eyes and sworn that nothing would hurt them while they were with me. And I’d failed. Samuel had waltzed onto my mother’s property, had taken them in broad daylight, and I hadn’t even known until Troy was bleeding out in the gardens.

My phone was in my hand before I consciously decided to pull it out. I found Rhodes’s contac