#Chapter 147: Cold-Blooded Execution

Aurora POV Gianna is finally still. The pill I offered her dissolved beneath her tongue, and within minutes the sharp edges of her panic soften. Her lashes flutter as she slumps against the pillow, breath evening out, the fight draining from her limbs. I brush her hair back from her face with shaking fingers, guilt twisting in my chest even as relief follows. I tell myself that I gave her a choice, that it’s for her own good, that if she were awake, she would only bleed herself dry on the impending truth. But I can’t let myself check out in the same way. Something is happening tonight. I can’t interfere, but I feel with unshaken clarity that there is still something I need to do. I stand too quickly, heart pounding, and the room tilts. My phone sits heavy in my hand, Dominic’s last message echoing in my mind even though it was brief, controlled, careful. He promised me it would be handled. He didn’t promise me it would be merciful.