"I don't know why you're asking these questions, or what kind of twisted goal lies behind them," Max said, his voice colder than frost. "But know this—if I have to sacrifice a million innocent people to save my family, I'll do it. Without a hitch. Without hesitation. Every time."
His tone never rose, but it held the weight of immovable conviction. "My family is everything to me. They are my past, my present, and my only future worth fighting for. And if protecting them means burning the whole world to ash, I'll set the flames myself and walk through them."
He stood then, not out of defiance, but as if his body could no longer contain the cold fury within him.
"Those so-called innocents you speak of?" Max continued, his gaze unflinching. "I don't care about them. I don't even know them. Their lives mean nothing to me—not when measured against the people I love."
