Outside the ward's sterile glow, he pulled out his phone. After a long, reluctant pause, he called Cecilia.

While the ringtone droned, he stared at the blizzard curling beyond the glass, stomach knotting with dread.

He knew he could never repay the mountain of debt. Cecilia was the one future he could still afford.

The thought tasted of shame, yet no other name lived in his thoughts.

Across town, Cecilia glanced at the unfamiliar number. The strange prefix told her it was Magnus.

Her private line was airtight. Unknown callers simply didn't exist unless they were family.

Besides Magnus, she knew no one in that dusty county code.

She pressed mute and let the phone pulse in silence.

The ringtone died again. Magnus redialed, brows knitting. "Why isn't she picking up? Did she change numbers?" he muttered.

He blew out a white breath. "Looks like I'll have to risk a trip back to Tudela."

The New Year was only days away. Magnus convinced himself that holiday sentiment would loosen Cecilia's purse strings and drag him out of this mess.

Back inside the ward, he shut the door.

creasing her brow. "So, this plan of yours, what is

Magnus


are you getting that kind of

stopped digging until every shard of truth

but chose honesty. "I'll ask my sister. She's loaded. What I

from Denise's face. She stared at

seeped into the

felt

I'll head back to Tudela, get rich, and forget you?" He tried to make it

gaze turned to ice. "I thought you'd changed. Clearly, you haven't. Why keep acting like a

said it, he

front of him. She was a living reminder of every line he had just

beneath Magnus' skin. His cheeks blazed, the shame so fierce it felt as if someone had pressed

The word snagged in his throat, nothing but a jagged whisper and

let's be clear, shares


values

friends anymore." Denise's voice never wavered, each

her life on self-reliance, refusing to offload burden or blame on anyone else, so Magnus' behavior landed like an

his stomach, cold and sudden, as though

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