Chapter 4

Isaac's POV

Lauren grabbed my arm, her fingers digging into my armor hard enough to hurt. “Captain—”

“This is an order.” I shook her off and didn’t look back.

Under the stunned, pained, and disbelieving gazes of my teammates, I turned and walked one step at a time toward the civilians huddled in the shadows behind us.

Almost immediately, Diana’s voice came through the radio, trembling slightly with excitement. “Good. Then begin, Captain Thorn. I’ve been waiting.”

Silently, I turned up the public broadcast volume on the radio.

I already knew what was about to happen. The civilians I had risked my life to save would look at me with confusion and contempt. The comrades who had stood beside me through life and death would feel shock and humiliation. My name would be disgraced. The dignity I had treated as my life would be crushed by my own hands.

But none of that mattered anymore.

Compared to one hundred and thirty-one living, breathing lives, any personal honor was lighter than dust.

I stopped at the front of the crowd, facing those terrified faces filled with fear, dependence, and uncertainty.

The noise and crying slowly died down. Every eye fixed on me, confused and wary.

“Fellow citizens,” my voice came through the loudspeaker, steady and clear. “I am the commander of this rescue operation, Isaac Thorn.”

After a brief pause, I said the words that would end my military career, perhaps even my entire life.

“Five years ago, I betrayed my wife. At our wedding, in front of all our family and friends, I abandoned her and walked away. “That was entirely my fault. Today, I offer her my formal apology.”

The moment the words fell, the silence shattered. The crowd erupted in shocked gasps and murmurs.

Yet I didn’t raise my head. I didn’t look at a single face.

Slowly, but with unwavering resolve, I bent my knees.

On the first bow, my forehead struck the hard, frozen ground, the dull sound briefly overpowering the distant gunfire.

On the second, dust smeared my brow as a deep ache spread across my skin.

Then followed the third, fourth, and fifth.

My movements grew faster, yet emptier and mechanical, as if my body had broken free from my will and was only carrying out a cold command.

Soon, the whispers faded.

Whether they were stunned by the sheer finality of it, or simply unable to comprehend the madness behind it, I couldn’t tell.

All that remained was the roar of explosions, the scream of bullets, and the steady, sickening rhythm of my bowing.

Blood ran down my forehead, blurring my vision. Warm liquid slid into my eyes, carrying the metallic taste of iron.

Still, I didn’t stop.

Then I soon reached thirty, forty, and fifty.

The world seemed to lose its color and sound.

All that remained was the vibration of each impact traveling through my skull and the heart in my chest, growing colder and more numb with every strike.

I didn’t know how long it lasted.

It felt like a century.

Finally, Diana’s voice came through the radio again.

There was a lazy satisfaction to it now. Even a trace of strange, unsettling gentleness. “That’s enough. Given your sincerity, I’ll allow you to withdraw.”

Soft keystrokes sounded over the channel.

“The extraction point is Zone E-7. Retreat route is Route Three.”

Route Three.

The instant the withdrawal was confirmed, Lauren nearly broke down in tears. “We’re saved!”