Chapter97: Chapter 97

Chapter 97 XENOIS "But our first priority is keeping you all alive," Sloane added. "And right now, that means reminding the underground why the Kingston name used to inspire fear. Once that's established, once the immediate threats are neutralized, you can go back to being the better version of yourself." "You're assuming I can just switch it on and off like that," I said. "What if going back to that mindset, even temporarily, changes me permanently? What if I can't find my way back?" "Then we'll help you," Dmitri said firmly. "That's what we're here for. We're not just your business partners, Xenois. We're your friends. We want you to have a real life with your family, to be happy. But we also want you all to survive long enough to enjoy that life." I stood there, weighing everything they'd said against my own fears and desires. Part of me wanted to refuse, to insist there had to be another way, to maintain this new version of myself that I'd been carefully building over the past few