I can’t bear that. I can’t allow my child to suffer shame for existing. And I won’t allow my baby to come to harm at the hands of The Tribunal. No matter what I do now, there will be damning consequences. I will never be looked upon favorably. If I told them I was pregnant, they might spare me a beating until the baby is born, but there’s no guarantee. IVI is an institution heavily influenced by Catholicism, but as a Society daughter, I think I’ve been shielded in many ways from some of the gory details about the punishments they mete out in circumstances like mine. I just watched them execute Abel Moreno, and while rare, these things do happen. There’s too much uncertainty about what they might want to do with my child, especially once they learn the father never wanted it to begin with. My future here is too unpredictable, and I have no choice. I know it in my gut, even as my heart wrenches at the thought.

The car pulls to a stop far too soon, and I blink, startled by the realization that I’m home already. Home. The word seems strange as I stare out the window in a daze, but that’s exactly what Judge’s house feels like. Only it can never truly be my home.

“Mercedes.” Santi’s voice infiltrates my thoughts. “Judge hasn’t been inappropriate with you, has he?”

His words linger between us, and for one delusional moment, I consider what would happen if I just told him the truth. If I asked for my inheritance and to be free of the chains surrounding me. Would he let me go?

I glance at his reflection in the window, and I know I’m clinging to a false hope. So I do what I’ve always done. I choke down the sadness in my throat and force a laugh.

“Come on, Santi. Get real. We both know Lawson Montgomery has no intentions of falling in love.”

When I walk into the house, it’s quiet, and I know that means Lois is either out with the dogs or at her cottage. The antique clock in the entryway tells me it’s almost four o’clock, and I don’t know how long Judge will be gone, but I know this will probably be the only opportunity I have.

It isn’t until I’m in my old room, grabbing the burner phone from beneath the pillow that a realization occurs to me. It’s Friday.

“Oh, my God.” I dart from my room and run down the hall as quietly as I can manage, fumbling with the screen on the phone as I check the time.