Chapter 235: Surrounded By Blood

Savannah “Jace, please,” Mom sobbed. Her voice broke in a way I had never heard before. Not when Chloe disappeared. Not when the first two bodies dropped. Not even when Paula collapsed bleeding on the floor. This was different. This was raw, desperate fear. “Think this through.” The gun in Jace’s hand was steady. Too steady. Raised and aimed at Chloe and Julius like he had all the time in the world to decide where the bullets would land. In that moment, the man I had grown up knowing—the quiet uncle who used to give me candy and listen to me narrate my day with patient smiles—ceased to exist. Everything about him shifted. His shoulders straightened. His eyes hardened. Something cold and merciless slid into place behind his gaze, like a door locking shut. And for the first time in my life, I realized something horrifying. I didn’t know this man at all. Jace slowly pushed himself off the floor, movements slow but controlled. There was no rush in him. No panic. Just a terrifying calm that