“You didn’t need to,” I replied coldly. “The law still applies.”

Then I gave one order.

“Arrest her.”

Minutes later, Lisa was screaming in handcuffs—placed there by her own father.

Eli was carried into the ambulance.

I reached into the coals and retrieved the medal.

The ribbon was gone. The metal was blackened.

But it hadn’t broken.

At the hospital, Eli woke up hours later.