I couldn't hold it in any longer. The words ripped out of me, raw and bleeding. "Is that what you told yourself when you slaughtered Millhaven, Omero? That they were just a bunch of lowborn nobodies?"

Omero flinched as if I'd driven a blade between his ribs. His hand shot to my throat and squeezed, his eyes splitting red with fury.

"Penelope, what nonsense are you spouting?!"

I struggled to break free, and the wound below tore open again. Blood soaked through the bedsheets in an instant.

Omero panicked at the sight. He gathered me into his arms, clumsy and desperate. "Penny, stop moving. Please."

I pried his hands off me and glared straight at him. "Omero, you've been lying to me for years. Was it worth it?"

"Hundreds of lives. And my two children. Don't you lose sleep at night?"

Omero's hand hung frozen in midair, trembling beyond his control. His right hand drifted toward the inside of his left wrist, pressing hard against the pulse point before he caught himself.

"You know about all of it?"

When I said nothing, he rushed to explain. "Penny, I had no choice. People in Millhaven saw you with the Valente heir. If the pregnancy got out, it would have torn the Commission apart."

I let out a bitter laugh. "Was it really about the Commission? Or were you afraid your precious Chloe would lose her position?"

Omero's brow creased. Whatever guilt had been in his eyes vanished, replaced by cold displeasure. "That was all my decision. Chloe had nothing to do with it. Leave her out of this."

Even now, he was still shielding Chloe. The last thread of hope in me snapped.

"Then what about my children? The first one, fine. I'll blame myself for grieving too hard to protect it. But the second?"

Omero saw that I had ripped away the final veil, and he stopped pretending. "Yes. I had someone take care of it."

"I wasn't ready to be a father."

"Even now, you're still lying to me..."

"Penny, stop this. Whatever I've done, I owe you. I've sworn a blood oath. I'll make it up to you. I'll give you a life of wealth and protection, secure in your place as my wife for the rest of your days."

I didn't want to hear another hollow promise. "Omero, I don't want any of it. I'll give up everything. Just grant me the annulment and set yourself free."

"If you're worried I'll expose the massacre, you can have my life too."

"All I'm asking is that you save Ruby."