Pamela’s Point of ViewThe air outside was cold and crisp, biting against my skin as I stumbled into the villa’s garden. My mind raced with a storm of emotions—confusion, anger, and a deep sense of betrayal that churned my stomach. I had believed Rowan, trusted him, even as the cracks in his façade began to show. Now, with Evelyn’s accusations and the damning evidence she provided, I felt my world splintering apart.But one thing was clear: I couldn’t run forever.I found myself at the garden bench where I often sat to clear my mind. Tonight, the stars overhead provided no comfort. They were distant, cold pinpricks of light, mirroring the isolation I felt. As I sat, trying to piece everything together, my phone buz
Pamela’s Point of ViewThe silence in the room was deafening after Lillian left. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it might break through my chest. Rowan stood there, his hands gripping the edge of the desk, his knuckles white.“She’s lying,” he said finally, his voice barely audible.I didn’t know if I believed him. “Lying about what, Rowan? Because so far, nothing about your family has given me a reason to think they’re honest.”Rowan turned to face me, his expression a mix of anger and desperation. “I had no idea about that letter or any of her threats. You have to believe me, Pamela. I’ve been try
Pamela’s Point of ViewThe minutes ticked by in heavy silence after Rowan’s phone buzzed. His jaw tightened as he stared at the screen, his fingers hovering over the reply button.“What are you going to say to her?” I asked, breaking the tension.Rowan glanced up at me, his eyes clouded with a mix of frustration and resolve. “I don’t have a choice. If she’s involved in this mess, I need to know.”I crossed my arms. “So you’re meeting her tonight?”He nodded, sliding the phone back onto the desk. “It’s the only way to fi
Pamela’s Point of ViewThe tension in the room was suffocating as Rowan ended the call with Lyka. His face was unreadable, a mask of calm that I knew he wore to keep his emotions in check. But his knuckles, white from gripping his phone, betrayed his inner turmoil.“What did she say?” I asked, my voice low but steady.Rowan inhaled sharply, placing the phone on the table. “Victor knows we’re digging into him. Lyka says he’s preparing to make his move.”“What does that mean? Is he coming after you? After us?” Panic crept into my voice despite my effort to stay composed.“I don’t know yet,&rdqu
Pamela's Point of View Rowan pulled me behind him, his shoulders squared as he stood between me and the approaching men. The air around us felt heavy, charged with tension, and every step they took closer set my nerves on edge. There were five of them, each dressed in dark clothing, their faces half-hidden in shadows. The one leading them had a cocky smirk that made my stomach churn."Hand it over, Hamilton," the man said, his voice calm but dripping with menace. "You’ve got something that doesn’t belong to you."Rowan didn’t flinch. "If Victor wanted it so badly, maybe he shouldn’t leave his secrets lying around."The man’s smirk faded, replaced by a sharp glare. "You’re making this harder than it needs to be. Give us the files, and maybe we’ll let you walk out of here."My heart raced as I clutched Rowan’s arm. I couldn’t tell if I was trembling because of fear or anger. The thought of Victor always being one step ahead, always pulling strings, made me want to scream. Rowan reached
The weight of Rowan’s revelation crushed down on me like a boulder. Victor didn’t just orchestrate my mother’s death—he used my father to do it. The room swayed for a moment, but I forced myself to stay upright. I couldn’t let the storm of emotions consume me now. Not with Joana here, her wide, innocent eyes begging me for answers I didn’t have."What do you mean?" I asked Rowan, my voice strained but firm. "What did my father do?"Rowan slammed the file onto the desk, the pages fluttering like restless ghosts. "This document outlines a significant financial transaction from Victor’s company to your father. It was made two days before your mother’s condition took a sudden turn. Victor doesn’t hand out money for no reason, Pamela. He’s manipulative, calculated. Whatever this
The tension was suffocating. Rowan’s warning about Victor’s men coming for the files reverberated in my mind like a drumbeat. Joana looked pale, her lips parted in disbelief as if she were waiting for someone to say it was all a misunderstanding. But no one spoke.I was the first to break the silence. "What do you mean they’re coming tonight? Are they attacking the villa?"Rowan exhaled sharply and crossed his arms. "Not an attack in the traditional sense. Victor doesn’t want a scene. He’ll send his people to try and sneak in—probably to ransack my study, grab the files, and leave. But if they can’t find what they want, they won’t hesitate to escalate."Joana gripped the armrest of her chair,
Rowan’s warning to stay in the safe room echoed in my ears as the minutes stretched into what felt like hours. The silence in the villa was oppressive, broken only by Joana’s quiet sniffles. I kept my eyes glued to the remaining live camera feeds, desperate for any sign of Rowan or Victor’s men.Joana sat beside me on the small bench by the monitor, her knee bouncing nervously. "Pamela, what if Rowan can’t stop them? What if—""Don’t think like that," I interrupted, my voice sharper than I intended. I took a deep breath to steady myself and softened my tone. "Rowan has dealt with Victor before. He knows what he’s doing."Joana’s lips quivered, and she nodded reluctantly, but the
The force of the vortex was unlike anything I had ever felt. It gripped me with an intensity that seemed to tear at my very soul, pulling me deeper and deeper into the unknown. My body twisted and spun, the world around me becoming a blur of colors and shapes. The weight of the power was crushing, suffocating, as if I were being sucked into the very heart of a storm.I tried to scream, to call out to Rowan, but the vortex swallowed my voice. The air was thick with a hum that reverberated through my bones, and the pressure in my chest increased, as though I were being squeezed into something too small. My eyes fought against the oncoming darkness, but no matter how hard I strained, I couldn’t focus on anything.It felt like hours passed, though I knew it had only been mere seconds. I was trapped in this swirling chaos, unsure of whether I was still in the
The chaos was deafening, an explosive clash of forces that vibrated through the very air. I could feel the heat of the energy swirling around me, my pulse racing as I stood frozen in the center of it all. Rowan’s voice cut through the noise, desperate and urgent.“Pamela, now! You have to leave—this is your chance!”But something held me in place. I wasn’t sure if it was fear, or if it was the crushing weight of the truth finally settling in. This was no longer just about survival. This was about discovering what I was truly up against—what I had unknowingly been dragged into.Victor’s power crackled through the room in sharp bursts, each one threatening to tear the walls down. It was terrifying—impossible even—but I knew deep down that we were running out of tim
I awoke with a start, my body frozen in place, heart pounding in my chest as though it were trying to escape. The world was still dark, but this time, it wasn’t the suffocating blackness of the arena. The air smelled different—cleaner, lighter—almost like I was in a different place altogether. Yet I couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.My hands trembled as I slowly lifted them, feeling the cool stone beneath me. I tried to move, but my body was too heavy, too lethargic. What had just happened? The creature—Rowan’s voice—everything was a blur.“Pamela,” a voice said softly from the shadows.I froze.It was Kiera. But she didn’t sound like herself. She didn’t sound cold or distant. T
I jolted awake, gasping for air. The air around me was thick with tension, my senses heightened as though I had just been pulled from the depths of a nightmare. My heart raced, but there was no sense of relief. No peace. Something had shifted—something dark and irrevocable.I sat up, the world around me blurry. A dim light flickered above, casting shadows across the cold stone walls. I blinked, struggling to make sense of where I was. The room was unfamiliar—no, this wasn’t the palace. It wasn’t the void either. This place was… different.I rose slowly, the weight of my limbs feeling heavier than usual. As my eyes adjusted to the low light, I saw an old wooden table in the corner of the room, covered with strange artifacts. The air was damp, like a forgotten underground hideaway, with the faint smell of earth and decay.A door creaked open, and I froze.“Pamela,” a voice called out softly. It was familiar, but not quite. A tinge of something I couldn't place lingered in the tone.I tu
The darkness enveloped me like a suffocating blanket, drowning out all sound, all movement. I felt weightless, as if I were floating in an endless void. My pulse thudded in my ears, but there was nothing else. No danger. No Rowan, no Zara, no Erin—just silence.I tried to move, but my limbs were heavy, as if shackled by invisible chains. My mouth opened to scream, but no sound escaped. Panic clawed at my chest, my breath coming in sharp gasps. What had happened? Why was I here?A sharp, cool breeze cut through the emptiness, and I realized that I wasn’t alone. I wasn’t in the void anymore. I was standing on solid ground—though it didn’t feel like the earth beneath my feet. It felt… wrong. An unnatural chill seeped into my bones, the air thick with the scent of decay.“Pamela.”I froze at the sound of the voice, so familiar yet so distant. It was Victor’s voice, smooth and mocking, like he was watching from the shadows.“You really didn’t think you could escape, did you?” His voice ech
The forest grew eerily quiet as we moved forward, every step dragging like lead. The earlier chaos had given way to a suffocating stillness, and even the wind seemed to hold its breath. Rowan walked ahead, his movements cautious, the tension in his shoulders visible. Zara stuck close to Erin, both of them exchanging wary glances. I trailed behind, my mind a storm of questions, fears, and Victor’s haunting words.“What does he mean, ‘I’m the key’?” I finally asked, breaking the silence.Rowan glanced over his shoulder but didn’t stop walking. “We’ll figure it out, but not here.”“That’s not an answer,” I pressed, my voice sharper than I intended. “If I’m putting all of you at risk, I need to know why.”
The roar reverberated through the air again, a primal sound that sent chills down my spine. It was neither human nor animal—something otherworldly that didn’t belong in the forest. Rowan’s grip on my arm tightened, his body tense as he scanned the surrounding shadows.“We need to move,” he said, his voice low but urgent.Zara, for once, looked rattled. “Move where? That thing doesn’t sound like it’s interested in taking prisoners.”“It’s driving them off,” Erin said, her rifle still trained on the darkness. “But for how long?”Victor and his men were retreating, their movements hurried and disorganized. Whatever was out there, even they didn’t want to face it. My heart raced as I re
The forest’s darkness was relentless, its towering trees and dense undergrowth threatening to swallow us whole. My lungs burned, my legs screamed in protest, but Zara’s iron grip on my arm gave me no choice but to keep moving. Behind us, the sounds of pursuit grew louder—Victor’s men crashing through the woods like a pack of wolves.“Don’t look back!” Zara barked, her voice sharp.But I couldn’t help myself. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed flickering beams of flashlights weaving through the trees. My heart clenched. They were gaining on us.Rowan ran ahead, his shoulders tense as he carved a path through the undergrowth. Erin was close behind him, her rifle clutched tightly in her hands.“We’re not losi
The forest was eerily silent now, the echoes of gunfire swallowed by the oppressive darkness. My breath came in shallow gasps as I clung to a tree for support, my legs trembling with exhaustion. Rowan appeared beside me moments later, his face a mixture of relief and fury.“Are you okay?” he asked, his hands gripping my shoulders tightly.I nodded, unable to speak. My mind was spinning from the encounter with Victor, his cold sneer still burned into my memory.Erin and Zara emerged from the shadows next, both bloodied but alive. Erin’s sharp gaze scanned the perimeter while Zara held her arm, blood seeping through her makeshift bandage.“We can’t stay here,” Zara said, her voice taut with urgency. “Victor won’t stop. He&rsq