Page 71 of Beyond Redemption

“Fuck,” he said, thefsimmering on his lips far too long. He began to pace, rubbing the back of his neck.

“We can’t tell her,” I said. “Not down here. And we can’tnottell her. How are we supposed to tell her?”

Naomi stared at me with a blank face, as at a loss as I was. “That’s why we waited. I was hoping to break it to her when we could say he’d been recovered without incident and was safe somewhere, but... Yeah, I don’t know how to navigate this. Were they close?”

“Ish,” I said. “It was complicated, but he was her dad.”

Naomi nodded. “Yeah. I can relate. I guess… uh… take her aside, give the kids an excuse for why she’ll be away for a bit, and give her time to process? I don’t know. It’s going to be rough no matter how you do it.”

“What is it?” Olive said, startling me. “What happened? You look upset.”

Thomas took Stella from Bodhi, then hugged Olive to his side. “Come with us, sweetheart.”

We walked to where the family was just beginning to settle in, stopping at what seemed to be the room Taylor and Falyn had chosen. Ellison was with them, chatting while Falyn folded a blanket, simultaneously directing Taylor on where to unpack their things. Ellison was sharing something about Gavin insisting Tyler take him to see the Humvee parked across the bunker, unconcerned that neither Taylor nor Falyn were paying close attention.

“Ellie?”

“Hi,” Falyn said, pausing where she stood. “Is this okay? Iberra said anywhere.”

“It’s fine. Ellie, do you think you could take Stella to your quarters for a bit with Hadley and Hollis? We need to grab Falyn and Taylor for a bit.”

“Uh… sure.” She held out her arms to Stella. “Hi,” she lilted, smiling down at the chunky baby in her arms. Stella hadn’t spent a lot of time with Ellison, but that didn’t stop her from smiling back.

“You need both of us?” Taylor asked.

When I nodded, he put down the stack of folded clothes in his hands and followed Falyn into the corridor where I stood. That’s when they noticed Thomas, Olive, and Bodhi.

“Everything okay, Tommy?” Taylor asked.

“Walk with us,” Thomas said.

We found what looked like a conference room and flipped on the light as we entered, the bulbs snapping on without hesitation, washing the space in clean fluorescent light. The room seemed brand-new and rarely—if ever—used. Smooth concrete walls had been finished to a matte, uniform surface, free of scuffs or wear. The oblong table at the center was solid and pristine. Save for a landline at its midpoint, a neat stack of steno pads, and a wire cup filled with capped pens, its dark surface was polished to a soft sheen. Identical high-backed, matte black chairs were spaced evenly around it, aligned with care, clearly done so by the cleaning crew out of expectation of optics rather than necessity. The seats were padded but firm, built for long meetings without showing a hint of wear.

Nothing was out of place or overlooked, consistent with the rest of the compound, but the bunker carried a different standard, maintained with the level of detail that suggested it mattered even more to Marcel than the rest.

Taylor and Falyn moved to the far side of the table, taking seats near the end without discussion, settling close, shoulders nearly aligned as if the decision had been made before either of them consciously registered it. Olive and Bodhi followed, choosing the two chairs next to Taylor, more toward the middle, closing the gap until the four of them sat in a tight line along the far side.

Thomas chose a chair at the end near Bodhi, angled toward them rather than across, reducing the distance without crowding it. I took the opposite end beside Falyn, aware of the geometry as soon as I sat—Taylor at her side, Olive and Bodhi just beyond, Thomas in her line of sight, and me close enough to offer support. The arrangement wasn’t ideal, but it kept them together, anchored between us as we prepared to tell them what none of them were ready to hear.

“I’ll just, uh… I’ll just get right into it,” Thomas began.

“Okay?” Taylor responded with a frown. “This doesn’t sound good.”

“We just got word from Naomi,” Thomas continued. “We’ve been cut off from the outside world since we arrived, relying on Marcel for information. Yesterday, he learned Falyn’s father failed to appear for a scheduled event. Shortly after, he and two members of his staff were reported missing.”

“Missing?” Taylor asked.

Thomas gestured for him to wait. “Naomi wanted to delay telling us until he was found, but…” his gaze fell on Falyn, his voice softening. “I’m so sorry, Falyn. They found his remains a few hours ago.”

Taylor’s brows pulled together. “Hisremains? Bill is dead?How?”

“He was kidnapped. We don’t have the details, but it’s been confirmed. He was killed, I’m sorry,” Thomas said.

“Falyn,” I kept my tone soft and careful, as if I were approaching a cornered animal. I remembered how broken she was when she thought Olive had died, and that was just a few short years ago. “Did you hear what Thomas said?”

“That my father was murdered,” Falyn spoke the words, fully detached from them.

Olive covered her mouth. Bodhi pulled her to his side.