“Good. Ontmond’s far. Far enough to finally be out of your reach.” Robin sneered, defiant even on his knees. “Mr. Flynn, let’s see if your reach stretches all the way from Srixby to Ontmond—”

He couldn’t finish. A sickening crack sounded as Ernest’s fist slammed into his face.

Robin’s head snapped to the side, a muffled groan escaping his lips as he collapsed onto the cold floor. The metallic tang of blood filled his mouth. Staggering slightly, he propped himself up with one arm, his other hand pressed to his cheek. “Ernest…”

“I’m the one asking questions!” Ernest snarled.

He grabbed Robin by the collar and yanked him upright like a rag doll. His voice was icy and sharp as glass. “Talk! Now!”

Robin coughed, a smear of red trailing down his chin. His lip curled in a crazed smile. “I don’t know anything,” he said—and then added with a deranged laugh, “And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you, you bastard!”

Ernest growled, his fury peaking. “It was you! You’re the one who took her from me!”

“Yeah!” Robin shouted, bloodied but unyielding. His eyes were wild with emotion. “You think she’s happy with you? You think she wants this life—trapped, invisible, silenced? Every day I watched her break a little more. Do you have any idea how much it killed me not to take her away sooner?”

“Shut up!” Ernest’s fist came down again.

Robin crashed to the floor, groaning, his body limp with pain.

Before he could push himself up, Ernest slammed a foot onto his back, pinning him down. He looked at Robin like he was nothing. “That was foolish!” Ernest spat, breathing hard.

Pinned under Ernest’s boot, Robin coughed violently, each breath ragged, blood dripping from his mouth. Still, his spirit didn’t break.

“Foolish?” he said, eyes gleaming with contempt. “If you really had the guts, you’d kill me right here. Go on—do it! Maybe then, you can celebrate. Celebrate the fact that Elissa finally escaped your goddamn chokehold, you devil!”

g?lnσνs?cóm is your escape

Ernest’s expression twisted. His eyes darkened—not with guilt, but with fury. “You?” he scoffed, his voice like a blade. “You think you have the right to call me that?”

Robin froze for half a second, then exhaled, a bitter smile curling on his bloodstained lips. “No,” he murmured. “I don’t. To Elissa… I’m a devil too. But you—you’re the one who broke her!”

He lifted his fist and slammed it into the floor beneath him with a harsh thud, his voice cracking under the weight of regret.

He choked on emotion, nearly screaming now. “You destroyed her, Ernest! You heartless bastard! How could you have her and still choose to crush her?”

Robin inhaled sharply through the pain, his chest heaving. “Yes! I took Elissa away! I don’t care what you do to me—I’ll never tell you where she is. And I swear on my life, I’ll never let you find her!”

The room fell into a stunned silence.

Across the room, Hadley’s eyes widened. Eric, seated beside her, turned to meet her gaze, their expressions mirroring the same realization.

.

.

.