Rosabelle regained partial consciousness after being struck in the head with a gun, blood blurring her vision as she knelt with her arms pinned behind her back. She reflected bitterly on having spit in Lieutenant Sebastian Rivers’s face—momentarily satisfied but aware it would worsen Clara’s fate. Around her, soldiers had already forced their way into the cottage and dragged Clara from sight, and Rosabelle fixated on the abuse and isolation Clara would face if taken away.

Sebastian wiped Rosabelle’s blood and spoke with patronizing calm about wanting what was best for her, while Rosabelle imagined violent revenge against him. She reviewed the rationale that had guided the last decade of her life—choosing loyalty to The Reestablishment to atone for her parents’ perceived betrayals—only to feel that belief collapsing as Clara’s screams faded and her own body began to shut down.

Memories of Clara’s childhood illnesses and deprivation flooded Rosabelle, triggering panic and near-fainting. She castigated herself for failing Clara, equating her choices with her parents’ failures. As her senses dulled, Sebastian reacted to a disturbance, noting with surprise that someone was arriving earlier than expected and recovering faster than planned.

Rosabelle recognized that the intruder had to be James Kent. A ripple moved through the assembled soldiers as a dented mini chopper careened toward the scene. Through a cracked windshield, James’s boots were visible as he half-ran, half-drove the damaged aircraft, building speed on a small rise.

When James gained enough momentum, he vaulted fully into the cockpit and steered the wobbling craft directly into the crowd of soldiers, turning the forced arrest into a chaotic and dangerous confrontation.