Kathrine's fists clenched.
"Then explain," she demanded. "Explain why everything around you reeks of calculation."
Daniel took a slow breath, eyes darkening.
"Because I learned a long time ago that justice doesn't come clean," he said. "The Bennetts made enemies they don't even remember. People who lost everything while they thrived."
He met her gaze unflinchingly.
"And if you think I'm the villain for wanting to hold them accountable," he added, "then maybe you should ask yourself why they've given me so many reasons to."
Kathrine searched his face, her certainty wavering for the first time.
"You don't have to trust me," Daniel said quietly. "But don't mistake my hatred for them as indifference toward Anna."
A beat passed.
"Because if there's one thing I never faked," he finished, his voice rough, "it's loving her."
The words lingered between them, unsettling and heavy, leaving Kathrine standing there, torn between everything she believed and everything she had just seen.
