Kaelen's POV
"What are you talking about?"
The words escaped before I could stop them. I held up my hand, cutting her off.
"You know what, forget it. I don't care."
She stared at me like she wanted to fight that statement too. Like she had any right to argue with me about anything.
"I know you hate me right now." Her voice went soft and careful again. But it didn't work on me anymore. That gentle tone used to disarm me completely. Now it just made me angrier. "But I wanted to fight back. I swear to you."
I stayed silent.
"The only reason Benedict acted so confident," she pressed on, trying to steady her voice, "was because of the dead man's switch. He knew I could destroy him whenever I wanted. He understood exactly how dangerous it was to threaten me or my father. But he never flinched. Never showed even a hint of fear. Because he knew we would never figure it out. Who his secret partner was."
She let out a shaky breath.
