Page 73 of The Hunter's Empire

Anger rises so quickly inside me that it almost feels physical.

"Does Darragh know?"

She closes her eyes briefly. "I told him."

"And?"

"I told Darragh and he told Fergus."

For one brief second, relief tries to surface. Then I see her expression.

"They asked me to let it go."

The words land like a blow.

Roisin stares down at her hands. "They said the Lindbergs couldn't find out."

I don't say anything. I don't trust myself to.

"The engagement with Axel is important politically." Her voice has gone flat now, emptied of emotion through repetition. "Our families arranged it when I was eleven. If the Lindbergs found out about any of this, the marriage would fall apart."

"And the alliance with it." I finish quietly.

She nods. "They said too much depended on it."

My hands curl into fists. "So they chose the alliance."

"They called it protecting the family." The bitterness in her voice cuts deeper than the tears ever could. Fresh tears slip down her cheeks. "But you believed me."

The words are so quiet I almost miss them.

I lean forward slightly. "Because I do believe you."

Her eyes finally meet mine.

For the first time since I've known her, the sharp edges she keeps wrapped around herself begin to crack apart, revealing the frightened, exhausted woman hidden beneath years of anger and sarcasm and carefully controlled distance.

"Thank you, Vivienne." The gratitude in her voice hurts almost as much as everything else she has told me. "Thank you for staying."

I reach for her hand and squeeze it gently. "You should never have had to survive this alone."

Another tear slips down her cheek.

"I know that now." She whispers.

For the first time since I met her, Roisin doesn't look completely alone anymore. Until now, I had viewed her as another member of the Keegan family. Another obstacle. Another person standing on the opposite side of this operation.

Now, as I walk through the silent halls of the estate, I realize how wrong I was. For all her sharp remarks and cold defenses, Roisin is trapped inside these walls just as surely as anyone imprisoned behind bars.

Chapter 17

Zora

The image of Roisin refuses to leave me. Even now, as I stand alone in front of the vanity mirror days later, her voice continues to echo in the back of my mind.

I can still see her sitting on the edge of that bed with tears in her eyes, admitting that nobody had ever believed her. The more I think about it, the harder it becomes to look at the Keegans the same way.

Before Ireland, people like Fergus Keegan existed as names in files and photographs. They were targets. Powerful men who built empires through fear, violence, and influence. Everything was simple when viewed from a distance.