"Hailey," a voice said.

Hailey Majestic drew Freeman Killer.

She turned as her heart pounded, then aimed the sword at the intruder. Hailey envied Lena at that moment. Because she saw someone she didn't want to see.

"Vera," she said.

Hailey lowered the weapon, but she didn't release it.

Standing next to Vera was a girl, one younger than Hailey. Coming from her scalp was brown hair, and her brown eyes pointed at the sword Hailey wielded.

She was brown-haired and brown-eyed. Like Don Ascend.

"Hailey," Vera said.

She headed toward Hailey, opened her arms. Hailey pointed Freeman Killer at her. Vera stopped walking.

"Don't hug me," Hailey said, retaining a glare. "I also remember telling you not to look for me."

She lowered the sword. Behind her was the desk she had placed Freeman Killer's sheath on. The weapon was in Hailey's bedroom. So was Vera. So was the girl she had come with, yet Freeman Killer's wielder didn't know her name.

"Who is she, by the way?" Hailey said. She gestured to the younger girl.

"I'm Jill," the brown-haired girl said. "Jill Key. My Soynite name is Kara Ascend. I'm Don Ascend's daughter."

Like Zoey, Jill was related to a traitor. Regardless, the kid wasn't her father.

"She's the baby in one of the High photographs," Vera said. "I found her. I found Kara Ascend. And I found her Watcher, Joseph. I met Cambridge Downer, too. He's on Earth. He's in Honolulu, Hawaii. So is Joseph. I've been living with all of them."

"You found all of those people, but you couldn't find my father," Hailey said. Freeman Killer accompanied her, not like the man Vera had refused to find. "You can go back to Earth. I already have everyone I need. Almost everyone. My mother is here. So is Nick."

Hailey's mother.

Nick.

They were people who hadn't stopped wanting to find Hailey's father. Vera had chosen to not look for him.

"Both of them are really here?" Vera said. Hailey nodded. "Okay. Good. That's good. And I will go back to Earth, Hailey. I have business to attend to. But I had to see you again, and I had to warn you, actually."

"Whatever you have to warn me about, I can handle it," Hailey said. "I'm finally what you wanted me to be. But you still haven't looked for my father. Congratulations on finding Jill, though. You're not completely useless."

"Forgive me, please," Vera said.

A heavy sigh left her as Jill looked at the blue sword. The young ruler crossed her arms.

"Is Zoey here?" Vera said. "Zoey All? Her real name is Alice Endman. I think I saw her in a vision, and she was kneeling for you. Was that her?"

Inside a hall in Betty's space station, Zoey had kneeled for Hailey, as if the blonde girl were a High.

"Yes," Hailey said. She and Vera spoke Soynite to each other, but that didn't mean Hailey wanted the woman to embrace her. "That was Zoey. And she was never here. I met her inside Betty's space station. Betty is Lena's Watcher. You know her as Marina Tome. Lena is Lovely Windsore. She's not here, though. She's back at that space station with Betty. But if you're eager to meet her, don't be. You'll end up wanting to kill her."

"Lena and Zoey are stepsisters," Vera said. No, Lena and Zoey had ceased being stepsisters. A Freeman had murdered Boone, killing him and slaying Lena's identity as Zoey's stepsister. "I know that because a boy named Hero told Joseph about it. Don't trust him. Hero, I mean. Don't trust him or any of his siblings."

"Why?"

Hero, Wade, Everett, Sydney, Macy, and Kat were Zoey's friends. Not Hailey's.

"They want to kidnap a Pure," Vera said. "I don't know why. But I do know that they tried to kidnap Jill. I stopped them, though. Jill convinced me to let them live. The Shame children might come for you, Hailey."

"I know about them," Hailey said. "I'll kill them if I have to. I even know their names. There's Hero. Sydney. Wade. Everett. Macy. And Kat. Sydney is the youngest. She's eleven. She has blonde hair and her eyes are blue. She's one of the Soynites you mentioned a few days ago, Vera. You saw her in one of your visions. I remember. Hero and his siblings survived the invasion by escaping in the fastest Soynite spaceship, and they have the Ascend Museum employee jackets. If I see them, I'll know who they are. And I know what they look like. Believe me."

Zoey had told Hailey what the Shame children looked like.

Mitch Shame, the father of those aspiring kidnappers, had the same hair color and eye color as Sydney. His birth daughter.

"Where's Zoey?" Jill said.

"Soy, probably," Hailey said. "I told her that she should go there. She could be somewhere else, though. Her kidnapper, Misty, told her that she should find her parents. The last time I saw Zoey was yesterday. Her father Boone Windsore is dead, by the way. He was killed by a Freeman yesterday, and his daughter Lena is my sister. My mother adopted her. Lena won't hurt me, but she would hurt you two if you were with her."

"She would try to, at least," Vera said. Freeman Killer fetched her focus. "Can you put your sword away? I want to hug you."

The only non-distant woman Hailey wanted a hug from was her mother. Vera, the Bloodhound who refused to find Theo Majestic, wasn't Hailey's mother.

"Just stay back," Hailey said.

Vera didn't move toward her, but she didn't exit the room.

"Is that Freeman Killer?" she said.

Hailey kept the sword in her grip. "It is."

"You're not going to use it to hurt your Watcher, right?"

"I might."

Jill took a step back. Vera didn't.

"Vera," Jill said.

"It's okay, Jill," Vera said. "Hailey loves me. She's not going to hurt me. Hailey, is Lena still cruel? You said that she would hurt us. Has she hurt you?"

"Leave her alone," Hailey said.

Lena wanted to find Hailey's father. Vera didn't. The pain Lena had afflicted on Hailey had left. Like her father. Like Zoey.

"Lena wants to find my father," Hailey said. "I can't say the same thing about a certain Bloodhound. My father might be dead. Maybe a Freeman killed him. That's what happened to Cape's Watcher, Ine Rain. His name was Peter Wayne when he died. Cape's new name is Jake. A Freeman killed Peter and his friend. Her name was Maggie Up. Soynites are dying, Vera."

Hailey had to tell Vera the truth about Peter's death later, but not around Jill.

"Some of us are dead, I know," Vera said. "Not you, though."

"Some Freemans are," Hailey said. "And it's because of me. I killed them. I really am what you wanted me to be. I didn't lie about that. You lied, though. You lied about loving my father, and it's so obvious. If you loved him, you would've looked for him. I wanted to see him again, but my awful Watcher didn't look for him. Did she?!"

Vera looked at the floor. She ran a hand through her brown hair, and made eye contact with Hailey.

"No, she didn't," Vera said. "But, Hailey, despite what you think, I really do love your father. I do. I also love you."

Hailey tightened her grip on Freeman Killer's white hilt.

"Don't say that," she said. "Lena can be horrible at times, but at least I know she loves me. You, though..."

"I never hurt you," Vera said.

"Physically, you mean," Hailey said. "You can leave now. You warned me about Hero and his siblings. You told me what you needed to tell me, so leave."

Vera gestured to the surrounding space.

"This is my home, too," she said. "I live here. Your mother and Nick may be here, but I still reside in this place. In this space station. Me and you have been living here for a long time. I'll leave eventually, but I will come back here. When I do, your father will be with me. I need you to know that."

Hailey took a step forward, armed with a sword.

Jill took a back, moving closer to the open door. She carried less courage than Vera.

"You don't want to find my father," Hailey said. "My mother wants to find him, and my brother does, too. And we're going to find him. Maybe he's at that Freeman base we found on Earth, the one in California. That's where me and my mother are going. Tomorrow."

A Freeman base in California was Hailey's target. She held a sword, yet she couldn't cut through the anger dwelling in her.

"Me and Jill are going to attack a base in Honolulu," Vera said. "Soon. After that, I'll come back here. Me and you will be living together again. I missed you."

"Right now, I don't even want to be with you," Hailey said. "I have everyone I need. You're not one of them, Vera. Go back to Earth. Keep doing what you've been doing, refusing to find my father. I don't need you. There are other Bloodhounds."

"But I'm your Bloodhound."

Hailey narrowed her eyes.

"You're my parents' Bloodhound," she said. She looked at her free hand, scowled. "I can get rid of wounds and pain, but I can't get rid of what I feel. I can't get rid of this anger."

"You're mad at me," Vera said. "You have a right to be angry. I took care of you. I raised you, but I never searched for your father. If I were you, I would be mad at me, too."

In a patronizing way, Nick had patted Hailey's cheek. But she would rather have him in the room than Vera, the woman who had acted as Hailey's father didn't deserve to be found.

"You don't want to find my father," Hailey said.

"She really does, Hailey," Jill said.

Inside a spaceship, the kid had lived with two of Hailey's sisters. Lena and Nova.

"You lived with Lena and Nova," Hailey said. "Nova's name is Sabrina now. Sabrina Sam. Her Watcher's name is Kevin now. Nova has a son. A Freeman son. His name is Ben."

"Nova's son is a Freeman?" Vera said. She grimaced. "Why didn't she kill him?"

Hailey aimed Freeman Killer at someone who hated Freemans.

"If you kill my nephew..." Hailey said.

Vera pointed her palm at her. She said, "Okay. Okay. I'm not going to kill him. I promise. You should lower the weapon. You should put it down, actually."

Hailey lowered her sword.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

"And you should leave," she said. "You know how to do that. I know you do. When I returned home from Betty's space station, I found my mother. You weren't there. You weren't in this room. My mother was, though."

"I wasn't going to stay away for long," Vera said. "I'm glad you reunited with your mother and brother, but you need me, too. I raised you for a long time. Your mother didn't. Neither did your father."

Hailey didn't aim her sword at Vera, but the urge to rushed through her. It ran rampant.

Behind Vera was the open door. Beyond it was Hailey's mother, someone who preferred to find Hailey's father. Near Theo's daughter, the Bloodhound, and the High was a bed.

Hailey's sleep had ended. She had spent another morning without her father. It was Vera's fault, as usual.

"That may be true, but you're still not better than them," Hailey said. "I never stopped wanting to find my father. I never abandoned him, but you did. You left him by refusing to look for him. Even Lena thinks what you did was wrong. No, it wasn't wrong. It is wrong. Because you still don't want to find him. You don't want to find Theo Majestic. I wouldn't even be surprised if you forgot that name. It's clear that you want to forget about the man himself. You claim that you want to find him, but you're a liar. My father isn't."

The sword caught Vera's attention.

"Perhaps if you put the sword away, you won't feel the need to be so aggressive," she said.

"Perhaps I want my father back," Hailey said.

Vera took a step closer. Hailey pointed Freeman Killer at a Freeman killer. With the sword aimed at the chest of her parents' Bloodhound, Hailey glared.

"I told you to stay back!" she said.

"Vera, please!" Jill said. She clutched Vera's wrist. "Just stay back! She's going to kill you if you don't."

"Let go of me, Jill," Vera said. Jill didn't obey. "She isn't going to kill me, really. You can let go. I have this situation under control."

Jill released the woman's wrist.

"Hailey," Vera said. "Lower the weapon. Please. You know me. I'm not Lock Tannis, and I'm also not Boris Endman. Neither am I Misty."

"I know you're not going to hurt me," Hailey said. "I might hurt you, though."

Her hands. One of them was empty, and the other held a sword.

"If you want to, do it," Vera said. "Hurt me. I'll even let you kill me. Kill the woman who refused to find your father."

"Vera, stop!" Jill said.

Hailey didn't slip the sword into Vera's chest.

"See, Jill?" Vera said. "Hailey knows what I did, but she still won't kill me. Hailey, put Freeman Killer away. You're not going to use it. You know that. So do I."

Hailey scowled. She turned, sheathed her sword. She faced Vera.

"Did you mean what you said?" Hailey said. She swallowed. "Do you really want to find my father?"

"It's almost my main priority," Vera said. "After I finish attacking that Freeman base in Honolulu, I'm going to find your father. I promise."

"You promise?"

"Yes."

Jill looked at Vera, then at Hailey.

Did the High expect the older girl to unsheathe Freeman Killer and ram it through Vera?

Hailey needed to use Freeman Killer to slay a false Freeman. Lock was a ruler. Not Hailey's ruler, but a ruler. He had many Freemans supporting him.

Did Hailey have her father?

No.

Did she have a Bloodhound?

Hailey went closer. She embraced Vera, and her Bloodhound hugged her back. Hailey closed her eyes.

She hadn't planned on slipping her blade into Vera.

"I'm going to find him," Vera said, keeping the girl close. "I promise."

"I love you," Hailey said.

"I love you, too."

Vera had been Hailey's Bloodhound for a long time. The girl couldn't deny it, and it was obvious the Watcher wanted to find her father.

Hailey opened her eyes, and her surroundings blurred.

"You're my Bloodhound," she said. "I'm sorry that I said you were my parents' Bloodhound. You're more than that."

The sweet embrace ended.

Vera wiped away the warm liquid on Hailey's face. It had come from her eyes, ones that could see. She wasn't her crown-owning sister.

"I'm sorry I pointed my sword at you, Vera," Hailey said. "I wasn't going to use it. I just wanted you to stay back."

"I know," Vera said. She caressed Hailey's cheek, and the anger from earlier didn't spring back. "I'm glad we're together again."

They had been together for years, Theo's child and the Bloodhound.

Hailey was the Majestic who had spent the most time with Vera. Her father had known the Watcher for a longer amount of time, but he hadn't spent years living with her.

"I'm going to bring your father home," Vera said.

"We are," Hailey said. "When you're ready to find him, find me. I want to come with you. My father needs to know that I never gave up on him. He deserves to see me when I free him. Not a Freeman. Do you remember how a lot of Freemans left Free, after Lock Tannis killed Vice Reaper? Those Freemans, those supporters of Vice, probably took my father. That's what Lena thinks. It's the only theory she came up with, about what happened to my father. Lena is clever. Sometimes."

Jill stepped closer, and Hailey didn't aim Freeman Killer at her. She couldn't.

"Lena," Jill said. "Vera said that she's blind."

"Because she is," Hailey said. "She can't see. She's completely blind. Her eyes are there, but they're useless. It happened on Still. Betty touched some water and Lena became blind, because the girl was the person she loved the most. She still is. Betty gained all the Saves. Every single one of them. But she touched the water on Still, and that's the reason why Lena lost her Saves and her vision. She can't fly anymore. She can't heal wounds. Her powers and vision will come back when she becomes worthy. We don't know how to make that happen."

A few days ago, Hailey had seen Betty lift a sleeping Lena off a sofa. She had done it with extreme ease. The Watcher possessed super strength, and her other Saves were there. They were real. They were as true as Lena's blindness and powerless nature.

"You can't meet Lena, by the way," Hailey said. She shook her head. "I have to warn you. I have to warn both of you about her. Betty warned me, but I stayed in that space station anyway. And..."

A Watcher had warned Hailey about her now-sister Lena. Betty had known the sightless ruler wouldn't harm the woman.

Hailey had warned her own Watcher and Jill about the Blind High. The blonde didn't believe Lena would hurt her.

"What did Lena do to you?" Vera said.

"It doesn't matter," Hailey said. "She's my sister now. That's what matters. And I'm going to kneel for my High now."

She approached High Jill.

The eleven-year-old wore no crown, but she was as royal as Lena.

Hailey kneeled, then bowed her head. She wasn't a stranger to kneeling for Lena. But she had never kneeled for Jill before that moment.

"Rise," Jill said.

Hailey rose.

"Jill, I serve you," she said. "I serve Lena, too. My father made you into a High, and I acknowledge you as my ruler."

"You should." Lena might have replied.

"Thank you," Jill said. "It's nice to meet you, Hailey. It's awesome, actually. You're really one of Theo Majestic's kids."

There were four other Soynites who had the privilege of having Theo Majestic as a parent, not all of them blond-haired and blue-eyed.

"And you're the daughter of Don Ascend," Hailey said. As if Hailey had spat onto one of her High's socks, Jill frowned. "Have you met him?"

"No," Jill said. "If I do meet him, it wouldn't be a pleasure. Thanks to my uncle, Cambridge, I know my birth father works for Lock Tannis."

Where was Hailey's uncle? Still in California, the girl hoped. Her mother hoped so, too.

"And Jill's mother works for him, too, Hailey," Vera said. "Cambridge didn't want to, so he was taken to the Freeman base in Honolulu. He was imprisoned for years. He escaped a couple of days ago, on Jill's birthday. Cambridge is one of the good Soynites. So is his niece."

Jill smiled. She said, "Hailey, can I sit on your bed, Hailey?"

"Sure," Hailey said. "Go ahead."

The High sat on the bed.

A photograph of Jill as a baby was in the space station. That picture, that thin object that showed a newborn with brown hair and brown eyes, had been in Hailey's backpack.

The eleven-year-old Jill sat on Hailey's bed, no longer toothless. No longer so defenseless.

The Ascend Museum. Part of its title was Jill's original surname. Ascend. Zoey had given information about the massacre the Freemans had brought to that museum. During the pale enemies' attack on the building, Hero's original parents had been hunted, wounded, killed. His parents had lost their lives, but their son had lived.

Hero still lived.

Hailey needed to beware that aspiring Pure kidnapper. His adoptive sister Sydney was Mitch Shame's only biological child, and her father was missing.

Mitch had four adoptive children. Hailey's mother had four biological children.

Hailey. Nick. Nova. Anne.

Two of those kids were in the space station, safe.

Nova. She deserved to be with her uncle, Ken. The younger brother of Lilly Majestic, a mother of five. One of her children had become a Lock Tannis worshipper.

"Anne is with a cult called the Lock Tannis Church," Hailey said. "Peter confirmed it. His mentee, Jake, met Anne inside a Freeman base. He met Summer and Bane Sinister. He's the leader of the Lock Tannis Church. They worship Lock Tannis."

"I've learned about them," Vera said. "Summer's last name is Sinister now. She's married to Bane. Hero explained all of that to Joseph, Jill's Watcher. I wasn't there when that happened. I wasn't living with Jill and Joseph back then. We're going to get Anne back, Hailey. After I attack the Freeman base in Honolulu, I'm going to find your father. Then I'll find Anne. I will."

Hailey and Anne were the only Majestics Vera had held when they were babies. Anne's Watcher had kidnapped the youngest Majestic. Vera hadn't stolen Hailey from her family. It was the girl's parents who had left the space station, and only one of the two adults had returned.

A mother had come home.

A father remained gone.

"Summer shot your father, then she kidnapped Anne," Vera said. "I remember that. I didn't see her get taken, of course, but I know that's what happened. A horrible Watcher took your sister, Hailey. Now that woman worships Lock Tannis, and so does Anne. It's not fair. That girl should be here, with us. She should be with her actual family. Anne has been away from her parents for way too long. Eleven years is a long time. Your mother must feel worse than I do, knowing that her youngest is tangled in a cult. A cult full of Lock worshippers."

Hailey, Nick, Nova, and Anne had come from a blonde woman, one who lived inside the space station the girl, the Bloodhound, and the High stood in. Vera hadn't reunited with Hailey's mother. Not yet.

Neither of the women had reunited with the stolen Anne Majestic.

Hailey's mother hadn't told Summer to shoot Theo Majestic. She hadn't told Summer to take Anne away from her family. The blonde woman had wanted Anne to stay with her. Summer had kidnapped her anyway. She had taken Anne, who was a child, daughter, sister.

Now she acted as if Lock Tannis deserved to have Soynites praying to him. He didn't.

A Majestic. Anne had been born as one and Lock never would.

Hailey's parents had chosen Anne's name during her mother's last pregnancy. The woman's fourth one. While Anne was her fourth child, Lena was her fifth.

"We never should've let Summer keep Anne," Vera said. "Your parents thought that maybe she would be safer with her. They convinced me as well. But we were moronic, Hailey. We were fools. No matter what, Anne deserves to be with her family. That's the truth. We didn't realize it back then, though. Years ago, your mother came here, and she let me know that she intended on finding Anne. I came here. And you let me know that Anne is with the Lock Tannis Church. She's on the wrong side."

"It was wrong of me," Hailey said. "A few days ago, I mean. I was rude to you. Then I left. I'm sorry."

Vera shook her head.

"You don't have to apologize," she said. "I didn't tell you that your mother and brother came here. I should've."

Lena moved into Hailey's mind. After leaving the space station, she had met the Blind High. Her current sister. One of her female siblings was the High who saw nothing.

"You doubted that Lena was still alive," Hailey said. "She is. I found her after I left you."

"I've heard that Lena is cruel," Vera said.

"She's beautiful, but she can be really awful," Hailey said. "That's why I tried to kill her."

The High on the bed left it. While standing, she shook her head. Jill hadn't been in Lena's throne room yesterday. She hadn't seen the blood that had come from her co-ruler.

"Hailey!" Jill said. "That's not awesome at all. You can't just kill your High."

"You don't know Lena like I do," Hailey said. "She won't hurt me, but she would hurt you if she could. She's with Betty. But I can't take you to her. Lena is violent and ruthless. She even slapped Nick because he didn't kneel for her. And Lena can't be around Nick, because the two of them hate each other."

If Jill wished to have a great reunion with Lena, she would need to stop wishing for it. Hailey had been a stranger to Lena. The High had preferred to strike the girl than embrace her. Thanks to the time Hailey had spent bonding with Lena, the sightless sixteen-year-old no longer wanted to hurt her.

Hailey had tried murdering Lena, yet they had kissed and embraced earlier. The High had done the same to Betty.

Getting a kiss and a hug from Lena must have meant Hailey had earned the older girl's respect.

She had seen a blind sister's roaming hands, Freeman corpses turning into smoke, and a father who was no longer with her.

Hailey's father had become Lena's second one.

"Do you hate Lena?" Jill said.

"I used to," Hailey said. "She hated me, too. But she loves me now, so she isn't going to hurt me. I wish that I could say that she won't hurt you."

"I'm not going to let a blind menace cause me any pain," Vera said. She put a hand on Hailey's shoulder. "I'm so happy that you're not mad at me anymore, Hailey. I missed you so much. I know I taught you how to kill, but I didn't know if you were going to be okay. A pale fool could've killed you. Or a worshipper of Lock. I was worried."

Hailey had failed to find her father. Still, she was safe. Unharmed.

"I'm okay," Hailey said. "I'm not completely fine, but I'm safe. I'm not dead."

Peter. Maggie. Boone. Lauren. Former High Boris. Those were dead people. Deceased Soynites. Hailey wasn't one of them. Her heart didn't stop beating. It never had.

"So, Lilly and Nick are both here?" Jill said. She stood. "I'm going to look for them."

"Be careful," Hailey said. "Nick isn't a gentle person."

"If I can't deal with Nick, I definitely won't be able to deal with the Freemans," Jill said. "Meeting him will be practice."

She left the room, intent on finding Hailey's mother and brother.

When Jill had been gone for ten seconds, Vera said, "What do you think about Jill?"

"Meeting her was a lot less painful than when I met Lena," Hailey said. Vera clenched her fists. "Vera, I'm fine. If you meet Lena, don't hurt her. Please. She's my sister. She's the only sister I've been around in a long time."

"And you love her," Vera said. "You love a High who abused you the first time she met you. I should've looked for you. You deserved to be safe, in this space station and away from anyone who could hurt you. You still deserve that. I left one Majestic alone, but I shouldn't have done the same to you. You need your Watcher."

Hailey turned. She touched Freeman Killer's white hilt.

Bright light cloaked the sword's sheath and the wooden hardness underneath it. Away from the bedroom was the man who had let Hailey have the sword.

She couldn't confirm her father's status as a living person.

"I have Freeman Killer," Hailey said. "And I have my mother and my brother. I don't need you to protect me anymore. I know how to kill, and I have killed. Freemans are dead because of me."

"You're still a kid," Vera said. "You're thirteen years old, and you could always use my help. I want you to live for a very long time. Let me ask you something. When you killed those Freemans, was it hard?"

"No."

"Awful things have happened to powerful Soynites," Vera said. "Not every fight is going to be easy. Lock Tannis is out there, and he's much more skilled than you are."

"He won't be so skilled when I kill him. Even Lena thinks that I deserve to be the next leader of the Freemans."

Hailey's Watcher scoffed. The girl faced her.

"Lena is the monster who hurt you," Vera said. "Nothing she says should be taken into consideration. How do you know that she isn't trying to make you suicidally arrogant? You tried to kill her. How do you know that she doesn't have revenge on her mind?"

"Lena loves me," Hailey said. "She doesn't want me to die. And it's almost impossible to make her love you. I can get difficult things done. You need to believe me, Vera. I can kill Lock Tannis."

Vera came closer. "In a fight with him, what if he wounds you and you die before you can heal yourself?"

Hailey shrugged.

"I'll live," she said. "I'll live, and I'll kill Lock. The Freemans will accept me as their Great Leader. I'll accept them, too. My nephew is even one of them, and I will love him. Can you think of a better potential Great Leader?"

Vera turned her head to the right. She made eye contact with Hailey.

"Let's just hold each other," the Bloodhound said. "Let's do that, before our lives become awful again."

Right now, as she remained in her home, Theo's third child didn't bleed, and her Bloodhound stood in front of her. The Freemans were distant. Like Lock.

Hailey and Vera hugged.