Jack’s POV
The room seemed to freeze.
Everyone’s gaze shifted toward my father, as though his next words were the only thing that could break the suffocating silence. The tension was unbearable, a heavy, invisible weight pressing down on every single person in the room.
One person.
The president had laid out the terms like a devil’s bargain—only one would be saved. The stark realization hit me like a sledgehammer, knocking the air from my lungs.
Louis or Samantha.
My father’s fingers tapped the armrest of his chair rhythmically, the only sound in the stifling room. His voice, when he spoke, was calm, too calm for the storm swirling in front of him. "You’re telling me I have to choose?"
“That’s correct, Mr. Smith,” the president’s voice crackled from the speaker, distant yet command
