SophiaI didn't flinch. Not when the message burned across my screen, Not when Alex gazed at me as if I were the question and the answer, Not when the walls in this house... my house started to feel like paper on fire. "You still don't know what you are." The words weren't a threat. They were a taunt. A dare. And something else. Something worse. A truth."What does it mean?" Alex whispered, even though his voice was already coming undone. I looked down at the necklace, the one I'd worn since childhood, a gold spiral of metal and negative space. The missing stone wasn't a mistake. It was never decoration. It was a key. A message. Something left to me by a woman I was never able to meet. Elara.Elara Vance.My mother.His mother's sister.And the entire world crumbled under my feet."Tell me this doesn't make us... " he began."It doesn't," I cut in, sharp and fast. "Our parents weren't together. Yours loved your father. Mine died trying to expose the ones who destroyed her
SophiaPrague felt a city suspended between times. The past whispered from the cobblestones, and the future spun in the glass windows that refracted the light just so... like secrets that invited to be seen. I stood at the edge of the Old Town Square, my coat buttoned about me, one hand shoved into my pocket, grasping the pendant I no longer saw as decoration.It was humming again. Quietly. in time. As if it had been familiar with the location prior to me.Vesper Thorn was somewhere in this city. And for the first time since this war began, I wasn't going after revenge.I was going after home.The appointment had been arranged by a messenger... no voice, no name, only a black envelope placed under my hotel door with an address scrawled in the thinnish, rushed ink.Karlův Tower. North stairwell. Night after dark. Come alone.I didn't struggle.Alex had insisted on staying with me. He stood back, no doubt measuring my position second by second, but he wasn't keeping pace. He knew better
SophiaIt reads almost like poetry... betrayal, tastedof iron.I ought to have known. I ought to have noticed it in how Vesper's eyes never seemed to blink, in how her voice never faltered, not even when talking of Elara.... my mother, her protégé. But belief has a way of obscuring instinct. And hope? Hope is the best poison.Now it was too late.The stairwell exploded behind me in a blast of glass and power. I hit the stone hard, elbows scraping, breath ripped from my lungs. Dust choked the air. Rubble cascaded down the archway above me like a throat closing tight.And Vesper Thorn?She didn't flinch.She stood exactly where she'd been, hands clasped, the vial I hadn't noticed before glinting like a promise between her fingers. It was the color of bone marrow. Not transparent. Not blood. Something in between. Something ancient."You brought them here," I said, coughing. "You invited them."She didn't deny it."I told you," she whispered, "this was never about saving you. This was abo
SophiaGrief is a luxury.I discovered that between the second bullet and the fifth betrayal. Between the coded dreams and the world Vesper hurled at me like jagged teeth. Between the still silent rot beneath my skin, where I lost grieving the woman I thought I was.Now I'm something else.We came into Switzerland on a forged identity. Bellion arranged for the papers, the bribes, the phony names. I didn't want to know how. That's the way men like Bellion operate—they make the evil look methodical. Clean.The air was burning here. Alpine. Pure. Mocking.As if this world had never been tainted by the filth of the serum.But I knew better.The old military camp excavated from the mountain—Codename: Coven—hadn't been left behind. Not precisely. Left behind meant forgotten. But this one had been entombed with precision. Kept intact. Like a grave waiting for its gods to return.Alex remained beside me on the ridge, his coat flapping behind him in the cold wind, his silence a language I coul
SophiaIt didn't start with fire.It started with silence.A silence that didn't just ring in my ears—it sank. Deep. Into my blood, into the marrow of what I was. The command had been given. The override engaged. And for an instant of breathless stillness, the world held its breath around me.Then it began to come apart.Chloe hit the floor first. Her scream wasn't a sound—it was a rupture. A raw tear in the air. Her back was arched impossibly, her hands clawing at the floor as if she could pull herself out of what was happening to her.The serum was acting.But not as expected.Alex caught me as my knees buckled. Not from the override—I wasn't reacting. That was the first warning.I wasn't reacting at all."Sit down," he whispered."I can't," I said.Because if I sat, I wouldn't get up again.If I let go, I might come apart too.Bellion's voice came through over the comm. "Geneva line. Priority intercept."Alex didn't hesitate. He gave me the receiver.Nathan's voice hit me like cold
Sophia's POV The golden light of dusk spills through my bedroom window, casting long shadows over the sleek, modern furniture. I adjust the diamond studs in my ears, my reflection in the mirror poised yet exhausted. The red silk dress clings to my body, hugging every curve in a way I know Nathan used to love. Tonight is supposed to be special—our anniversary, a chance to remind him of the woman he fell in love with. Lately, things have been distant between us, but I refuse to believe our marriage has lost its fire.I glance at the elegantly wrapped gift on my vanity and smile to myself. It’s a personalized watch, engraved with Forever, S & N. A small token, a reminder of our promises. Maybe this will rekindle something in him, remind him of the nights we spent laughing over cheap wine and takeout before success consumed us. I smooth down my dress, grab my purse, and head out, heart fluttering with anticipation.The drive to Carter Enterprises is smooth, the city lights twinkling like
Sophia's POV The moment the elevator doors slide shut, the weight I had been holding crashes down on me like a tidal wave. My chest tightens, my breath hitching as I lean against the cold steel wall. The image of Nathan and Chloe tangled together is burned into my mind, replaying in vicious loops. My fingers curl into my palms, nails biting into my skin, but it does nothing to stop the storm inside me. The doors open, and I step out into the empty parking garage, the sound of my heels echoing like the hollow ache in my chest. I make it to my car before the first tear falls.I grip the steering wheel, my vision blurring as silent sobs wrack my body. Six years. Six years of laughter, of whispered dreams, of standing beside him through every success and failure. Had it all been a lie? The late nights at the office, the unexplained business trips, the growing distance I had convinced myself was just stress—was it always her? My own sister? The betrayal cuts deeper than I thought possible
Sophia's POV The whiskey burns as it slides down my throat, but it’s nothing compared to the fire raging inside me. Betrayal, humiliation, anger—every emotion collides in a storm I can’t contain. I grip the glass tighter, my knuckles turning white, but no amount of alcohol can erase the image of Nathan and Chloe wrapped around each other. The weight of the night presses down on me, suffocating, until the man beside me speaks again."You look like you want to set something on fire."I turn to him, finally giving him my full attention. The dim light of the bar casts sharp shadows over his face, highlighting the cut of his jaw, the slight smirk playing on his lips. His dark eyes, deep and unreadable, scan me with a curiosity that feels almost dangerous. He’s effortlessly handsome—too handsome. Broad shoulders, tailored suit, the kind of presence that demands attention. There’s something about him, an intensity that unsettles me, but I don’t look away."Maybe I do," I admit, swirling the
SophiaIt didn't start with fire.It started with silence.A silence that didn't just ring in my ears—it sank. Deep. Into my blood, into the marrow of what I was. The command had been given. The override engaged. And for an instant of breathless stillness, the world held its breath around me.Then it began to come apart.Chloe hit the floor first. Her scream wasn't a sound—it was a rupture. A raw tear in the air. Her back was arched impossibly, her hands clawing at the floor as if she could pull herself out of what was happening to her.The serum was acting.But not as expected.Alex caught me as my knees buckled. Not from the override—I wasn't reacting. That was the first warning.I wasn't reacting at all."Sit down," he whispered."I can't," I said.Because if I sat, I wouldn't get up again.If I let go, I might come apart too.Bellion's voice came through over the comm. "Geneva line. Priority intercept."Alex didn't hesitate. He gave me the receiver.Nathan's voice hit me like cold
SophiaGrief is a luxury.I discovered that between the second bullet and the fifth betrayal. Between the coded dreams and the world Vesper hurled at me like jagged teeth. Between the still silent rot beneath my skin, where I lost grieving the woman I thought I was.Now I'm something else.We came into Switzerland on a forged identity. Bellion arranged for the papers, the bribes, the phony names. I didn't want to know how. That's the way men like Bellion operate—they make the evil look methodical. Clean.The air was burning here. Alpine. Pure. Mocking.As if this world had never been tainted by the filth of the serum.But I knew better.The old military camp excavated from the mountain—Codename: Coven—hadn't been left behind. Not precisely. Left behind meant forgotten. But this one had been entombed with precision. Kept intact. Like a grave waiting for its gods to return.Alex remained beside me on the ridge, his coat flapping behind him in the cold wind, his silence a language I coul
SophiaIt reads almost like poetry... betrayal, tastedof iron.I ought to have known. I ought to have noticed it in how Vesper's eyes never seemed to blink, in how her voice never faltered, not even when talking of Elara.... my mother, her protégé. But belief has a way of obscuring instinct. And hope? Hope is the best poison.Now it was too late.The stairwell exploded behind me in a blast of glass and power. I hit the stone hard, elbows scraping, breath ripped from my lungs. Dust choked the air. Rubble cascaded down the archway above me like a throat closing tight.And Vesper Thorn?She didn't flinch.She stood exactly where she'd been, hands clasped, the vial I hadn't noticed before glinting like a promise between her fingers. It was the color of bone marrow. Not transparent. Not blood. Something in between. Something ancient."You brought them here," I said, coughing. "You invited them."She didn't deny it."I told you," she whispered, "this was never about saving you. This was abo
SophiaPrague felt a city suspended between times. The past whispered from the cobblestones, and the future spun in the glass windows that refracted the light just so... like secrets that invited to be seen. I stood at the edge of the Old Town Square, my coat buttoned about me, one hand shoved into my pocket, grasping the pendant I no longer saw as decoration.It was humming again. Quietly. in time. As if it had been familiar with the location prior to me.Vesper Thorn was somewhere in this city. And for the first time since this war began, I wasn't going after revenge.I was going after home.The appointment had been arranged by a messenger... no voice, no name, only a black envelope placed under my hotel door with an address scrawled in the thinnish, rushed ink.Karlův Tower. North stairwell. Night after dark. Come alone.I didn't struggle.Alex had insisted on staying with me. He stood back, no doubt measuring my position second by second, but he wasn't keeping pace. He knew better
SophiaI didn't flinch. Not when the message burned across my screen, Not when Alex gazed at me as if I were the question and the answer, Not when the walls in this house... my house started to feel like paper on fire. "You still don't know what you are." The words weren't a threat. They were a taunt. A dare. And something else. Something worse. A truth."What does it mean?" Alex whispered, even though his voice was already coming undone. I looked down at the necklace, the one I'd worn since childhood, a gold spiral of metal and negative space. The missing stone wasn't a mistake. It was never decoration. It was a key. A message. Something left to me by a woman I was never able to meet. Elara.Elara Vance.My mother.His mother's sister.And the entire world crumbled under my feet."Tell me this doesn't make us... " he began."It doesn't," I cut in, sharp and fast. "Our parents weren't together. Yours loved your father. Mine died trying to expose the ones who destroyed her
SophiaThe lights didn’t just flicker, they died.The sudden blackness swallowed everything, leaving only the sound of my own breath, jagged and alert. My heart jackhammered against my ribs, instinct bracing me before my mind could catch up.Alex moved instantly. Silent, precise. A shadow brushing past me as he reached for the gun tucked in the hollow behind the liquor shelf. I didn’t flinch. I knew better now.I wasn’t the girl who used to ask permission to fight back."Down," he whispered.I crouched, flattening myself beside the heavy armchair, eyes adjusted to the outlines. The comms had gone silent. Whoever triggered it didn’t want us warned. But it was already too late for them.Because Chloe wasn’t just walking into a house.She was walking into her reckoning.Boots echoed in the hallway.I counted two sets. Maybe three. Too light for Nathan. Too tactical for Bellion. Not Chloe either... she never got her hands dirty. No, she paid others to do that for her.The first shot wasn’
SophiaAlex's study tasted like decisions. Heavy. Bitter. Smelling of the burden we both knew was going to befall us.He hadn't uttered a sound since I'd given him the pages, Chloe's writing, her hubris bare on every page, in every carefully disguised betrayal and deal. He read slowly, methodical, as if dissecting her lies with a scalpel.I stood at the window, arms folded, watching twilight fall into the cracks of the city. It seemed smaller from up there. Controlled.Contained."You're quiet," I said eventually, my tone a low buzz, too soothing for the turmoil in my heart.Alex didn't look up. "Because if I do, I may tell you how much I want to destroy everything."I turned to him. "Then say it.".His eyes locked on mine, and for a moment, I lost the ability to breathe."I want to take her reputation, her company, her legacy. I want to make Chloe disappear like she made you disappear. But more slowly. So she can see it coming."My lips curled, not into a smile... no, that feeling ha
AlexThe world did not explode in fireworks. It fell apart in the silent cracks.I was at dawn on the east edge of the roof of the manor, the sky bleeding into shades of bruise and fire. Another day, another thread breaking. Nathan's kingdom had started to rot from the inside out, and he hadn't even been aware that the worms were his own people.Bellion stood at my shoulder, silent as always, a specter in suit jackets and restraint."She moved the next pawn," he said, glancing down into the street below where the black SUV parked, one of ours."She was always the better chess player," I grumbled, drumming on the railing with my fingers, timing out the seconds until Nathan snapped.Twelve.That's how long it took.Bellion's com crackled, and then the voice, husky, claustrophobic."Holding an emergency board meeting," he told him. "He's playing it straight down the line. Asset freeze. Public denial. Legal counter-attack.""It's a scandal, is it?"Bellion's mouth flexed. "It's a reckonin
SophiaThe smell of her cologne still in the air.Vanilla, amber, something synthetic trying to mimic heat. Chloe only put it on whenever she needed to pretend to have a soul.I waited in ambush in the tribune room's peeling pillars and broken crystal chandeliers, a poetic observation of what both of us had become. Queens without kingdoms. Sisters without blood. Enemies by design.The air lay heavy. There was ancient judgment within these walls. Sentences echoed through seams in the ceiling.I had wished she'd hear it also.She appeared with her heels clicking as though she owned moments. No guard. No hesitation. Just this smirk carved upon her lips like she'd already emerged victorious.I didn't move.I stood until she was three strides past the threshold before I shattered the silence."You actually believed I'd stay in the ground, didn't you?"She ceased her movement.I advanced one slow, measured step, letting the light strike my face first. Her eyes expanded, shock curving into c