CHAPTER 432

Elijah’s POV

“I can’t,” she muttered. “You don’t get it. It’s not just Isabelle. There are people… dangerous people… people she’s tied up with.” Her voice broke, and she looked up at me for the first time, her eyes brimming with fear. “If I talk, they’ll come for me. For my family.”

I studied her for a long moment, trying to figure out how much of that was true and how much was fear clouding her judgment.

“You think staying silent will protect you?” I asked in a firm voice. “Isabelle isn’t going to stop. You know that. If you don’t speak up now, she’ll bury you along with anyone else who gets in her way.”

She shook her head again, more desperately this time. “I don’t want to cooperate. You don’t understand… they’ll kill me before I even get the chance.”

“Zoey, look at me,” I said, leaning forward, my voice commanding. “This is your chance. You can either be a pawn in Isabelle’s game, or you can help take her down. If you don’t, I’ll make sure you’re the one who gets blamed for all of