But Catalina had no way to know that. Not unless Geron finally decided to open his mouth and explain the full picture, which would mean exposing exactly how deep his involvement in this case was and the people who were ordering him, which would mean—

"Then let me put it this way." Catalina stopped at the tent flap and turned back. Her eyes found Geron’s and continued, "Try to stop me, and you’ll see a divorce application on your work mail by tomorrow morning."

At that moment, something in Geron broke.

"ENOUGH!" Geron roared, echoing in the tent.

Catalina didn’t flinched nor had a huge reaction hearing that. She simply stopped moving, waiting.

Geron stood straight, shedding his cowardly behavior. For the first time since entering the command tent, he actually looked like a Baron of the Empire, who once served in the military and commanded troops on the borders.

His eyes found Catalina’s, calm and collected but clearly angered.

Pete knew that he was angry because Catalina would never understand, and that she was being reckless in her actions. He knew very well the terrible pressure that came with keeping secrets for too long.

No one would understand you other than yourself.

"I am all for searching for our daughter," Geron said, his voice low and raw, devoid of any emotion. "She is my daughter too, Catalina."

He looked at Catalina directly in the eye, unwavering, unapologetic.

Pete knew that Geron had made his choice.

"But I’m sorry."

Catalina’s expression fell as she realized the real extent to which Geron would go to just keep his mouth shut.

Geron’s expression remained blank, without any hint of anger or desperation to keep his wife. Like there was nothing more that he could do in this situation.

"If you’ve truly decided to leave," he said quietly, as painful as it was, Geron kept his eyes firmly looking directly at Catalina. "I won’t stop you."

Pete could see Catalina heaving, catching her breath, without making a sound. Her eyes looked empty. She probably did not expect him to resort to this.

Gloria’s comprehensive guide to courting was right. Once something cooled down, it was hard to heat it back up again.

It was alright to argue, but once that argument burned each other’s feelings into ashes, only the chilling emptiness would be left as a reminder of your regrets.

And if the winds blew, it would simply vanish like a piece of memory only you could remember.

She had expected him to fight. Powerful men usually cave in when their wives threaten to leave them. She had expected repercussions, but as long as she could get what she wanted, they could think of a solution to repair this scar in the future.

However, it seemed that she didn’t just marry a simple, powerful man.

Pete saw Geron walk towards Catalina and opened the exit to the tent.

And standing in that doorway, facing her husband, Catalina realized for the first time that her husband was not who she thought he was. She realized how much weight he was willing to carry to keep his mouth shut.

Her face crumpled, unable to say anything. Pete watched her press one hand to her mouth as her eyes filled with tears she refused to shed.

"I just want her back," Catalina whispered through her fingers. "I just want my daughter back."

Geron closed his eyes, mouth pursed tightly. When he opened his mouth again, he didn’t look at his wife.

He looked at Xavier.

"Send her home," Geron said. His voice was now steady and commanding.

Xavier’s golden eyes studied Geron for a long moment and nodded in understanding. His gaze slid to Lt. Hawn.

"Baroness." Lt. Hawn understood and stepped forward, and acted like a military escort. "If you’ll come with me, I’ll arrange transport—"

Catalina didn’t look at him, nor acknowledge him, nor listen to what Lt. Hawn was saying. She continued to look at Geron, who refused to turn his gaze back to her.

She lowered her hand from her mouth. Straightened her spine. Pressed her lips together until the trembling stopped.

Then, without another word, she turned and walked out of the tent ahead of Lt. Hawn, her heels striking the temporary flooring, without letting herself fall apart until she was safely behind closed doors.

Lt. Hawn hurriedly followed, and the tent flap settled behind them.

Geron stood motionless for three seconds. Then his whole demeanor changed.

If earlier there were still subtle emotions warring from grief and conflict, now they have been replaced by a cold and sharp demeanor that resembles that of a military officer.

Xavier saw it and knew that this would be the start of a serious conversation. He could no longer use Catalina as a weapon to change Geron’s decisions.

"As I said earlier, the Imperial Military will assume full operational control of this site and all related investigations. Effective immediately,"

Xavier said. His tone had shed its earlier political layering and settled into pure command.

"I am formally requesting the complete and unreserved cooperation of all parties present. That includes the full transfer of any findings, research data, operational intelligence, and classified materials related to this facility and its occupants." 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

His golden eyes locked onto Grayson.

"Starting with yours."

Pete braced for Geron’s objection. The Baron had every reason to push back. Any competent military politician would fight for limitations, conditions, sealed proceedings.

Geron said nothing and moved to seat back in his original seating arrangement. He watched Xavier and Grayson, waiting before choosing.

It was a smart move, but in the end, people still needed to choose.

"We’ll cooperate," Grayson said.

Xavier’s eyebrow twitched; he wasn’t going to believe for a second that Grayson would just agree just like that.

"On one condition."

Xavier’s eyes flickered in amusement, like it was just as he had expected.

"I don’t think you’re in a position to put down conditions, CEO Maxwell." He said.

"I understand," Grayson said lightly without batting an eye. "And I’m putting this condition forward precisely because I’m in this situation."