The night before the negotiations turned into utter chaos.


    While the Westhaven envoys at Concord Lodge worked through a sleepless night, the officials at the Supreme Court convened for an emergency session.


    Over at the Ministry of Justice, Aurora had been relentlessly pleading to see Barrett onest time since her confession. She even dropped to her knees, crying and begging for mercy.


    Ever since Aurora was taken into custody, she had maintained a strong front. Now, all of that seemed to have crumbled. Patrick knew that after the negotiations, she would likely be handed over to Westhaven''s envoys for punishment. A quick death would be a mercy, but she would most probably receive a painful and humiliating end.


    Even death row prisoners were allowed a final meeting with their loved ones, so Patrick allowed Aurora and Barrett to meet tonight, but only within the confines of the prison cell.


    Barrett was escorted to the cell under heavy guard. The officials opened the cell door, then stationed themselves outside, giving the two some semnce of privacy.


    Of course, Barrett was thoroughly searched before entering. Any sharp objects that could allow Aurora to harm herself were strictly prohibited. If she ended up dead before being handed over to the Westhaven envoys, it would be impossible to exin. Aurora was being held in solitary confinement in the women''s prison. Her role in the case was too critical to risk anything happening to her, so Patrick had stationed heavy guards around her cell.


    The flickeringntern light illuminated Barrett and Aurora''s gaunt, haggard faces. The confident, triumphant air they had after the triumph at Victory Pass was now nowhere to be found. All that remained was exhaustion, desperation, and a palpable sense of defeat. "I changed my testimony for you," Aurora said, staring at the man in front of her. Hisck of resolve only deepened her despair, and her voice grew urgent, "I told them you knew nothing about what happened at Victory Pass. That should be enough to keep you safe." "That''s the truth. I truly didn''t know," Barrett replied tly.


    "But before you were brought in, I insisted that Dominic was the mastermind behind the entire operation."


    "That wouldn''t have held up. It was just your word against his. Neither the king nor the Ministry of Justice will believe it."


    Aurora''s face twisted with fury and frustration, her features dark and menacing. "It doesn''t matter! Westhaven didn''t go through all this trouble just to see me dead. They''ve hated the Sullivan family for years. Guarding Victory Pass for generations has made the Sullivans a thorn in Westhaven''s side. They are who Westhaven truly wants."


    Barrett stared at her, his expression turning serious. "What are you nning?"


    "Listen carefully," she said bluntly. "Westhaven is after the Sullivan family and me. To them, you''re useless. They don''t want your life. On top of that, the king is determined to protect you, so you''ll be fine. At worst, you''ll lose your position for a while, which might be good for you."


    "What are you trying to say?"


    "Save me."


    Aurora''s eyes burned with a cold intensity as she locked her gaze on Barrett.


    "The Westhaven officials won''t kill me right away, she went on. "They''ll take me back to Westhaven and torture me. They''ll drag it out until die as miserably as their crown prince did. That''s the only way to


    satisfy their grudge. But th1.ne


    gives us an opportunity. Once I''m out of the capital, you can find a way to rescue me."


    Barrett looked at her in shock. "So, your n to protect me was just so you could use me to save yourself?" Aurora shook her head.


    "No! I would never willingly drag you into this! From the start, I told them it was Dominic who secretly summoned me to n this. I didn''t implicate you. It wasn''t until you confessed to your involvement that I was forced to admit I acted alone and that it had nothing to do with you. I never intended to harm you. Even in the worst moments, I still remembered our bond as husband and wife and did everything I could to protect you." This is the property of N?-velDrama.Org.


    She ced her hand on his shoulder, her disfigured face filled with a mix of defiance and resentment.


    "If it weren''t for your confession, I wouldn''t have been pinned as the mastermind. You caused this. Now, you have to fix it."


    "You''re overestimating me." Barrett looked at her. The face before him was almost unrecognizable, as though she were a stranger. "Even if I''m released, I''ll still be stripped of my rank. What power would I have to save you?"


    Aurora grabbed his clothes and pulled him closer, leaning in to whisper something into his ear.


    Barrett jerked back, his eyes wide. "You''ve been nning this from the start?"


    Aurora''s voice turned cold, saying,


    "What choice did I have? Sit in Blessed Haven and wait to die? If you''d cared even a little or bothered to visit me there, you''d have known what was doing. I studied every map of Starhaven, analyzed every possible escape route, and nned until I found the perfect one."