Elias's breath caught, shallow but controlled. "Because Matteo crawled out of the grave and decided to take a stroll toward Clarke's house?"
Victor's lips curved, not quite a smile. "Because the dissidents don't waste effort on accidents. They're opportunists. Matteo's death was convenient; his survival even more so. Someone needed a spectacle, a walking corpse with enough history to rattle the edges of the map. And where does he head?" A pause, deliberate. "To the Clarke estate. That is not coincidence."
Elias's fingers tightened on the glass until the condensation slicked his palm. "So I'm supposed to believe they brought him back just to parade him past my name?"
