The rooting stage made Liam grander in many ways. The breakthrough had elevated his very existence, turning his sheer killing intent into a more tangible, suffocating force.
'You finally show yourself,' Liam thought, talking to the hiss that had refused to resound since the breakthrough.
Of course, Liam's chilling attention remained on Ronnie. Unlike Old Joe, Ronnie reeked of something akin to hostility, which targeted Liam specifically.
The issue was that Liam had only subconsciously smelled the lie. He didn't know how to expose Ronnie with words and didn't want to start an argument. The way he saw it, the less he spoke, the safer he would be.
Yet, Liam had a default response to hostility, an approach far simpler and more effective than politics. Ronnie was trying to trick him for no reason, so the foundation expert's life became more brittle than it already was.
