Chapter 28: Bloodlines and Betrayals

The room was spinning.

Ivy’s vision blurred as the woman in red stepped closer. Her presence was suffocating like the air had been drained from the space around her. Her heels clicked softly against the floor, but the sound echoed like thunder in Ivy’s ears.

“I’ve come for my child,” she repeated her voice a chilling whisper that vibrated in Ivy’s bones.

Then everything went black.

Killian was pacing in the hallway. The lights still flickered from the surge of energy earlier, and his nerves were on edge. Aiden had stormed off after the confrontation, his face a mask of fury and confusion. Killian didn’t care. Right now, Ivy’s safety was all that mattered.

Suddenly, Killian froze.

A scent.

Familiar. Ancient.

And terrifying.

“No,” he whispered. “She’s here.”

Without hesitation, he bolted toward the apartment.

In the darkness of unconsciousness, Ivy found herself standing in a strange place—a stone chamber wrapped in shadows. There were mirrors everywhere, all cracked, all reflecting different versions of her.

Some were crying. Some were bleeding. One… was laughing.

And in the centre of the room stood the woman in red.

“You’ve carried them well,” she said. “But your body wasn’t meant to hold divinity.”

Ivy tried to speak, but her voice wouldn’t come.

“You belong to me, Ivy Vale. Not by blood—but by destiny.”

She pointed to the mirror behind Ivy.

Inside it, Ivy saw herself… holding two babies. One glowing with warmth. The other is surrounded by smoke.

The image cracked.

And the woman’s eyes gleamed.

“When the time comes,” she said, “you’ll choose the wrong one.”

Ivy awoke with a gasp, her hands flying to her stomach.

Still there. Still alive.

But the woman in red was gone.

Or so she thought.

A figure emerged from the shadows by the window.

Killian.

He rushed to her side. “Are you alright?”

“I think she… she was here,” Ivy stammered. “She said… she came for my child.”

Killian’s jaw clenched. “Her name is Syra. She’s not fully human. She was part of the Syndicate’s original bloodline—Isla’s bloodline. She’s been trying to create the vessel for Isla’s return for years.”

“You said I was implanted—”

“Yes. But what I didn’t know until now,” Killian said, his voice low, “is that Syra has her own prophecy. And you’re part of it.”

---

Meanwhile — Aiden Makes a Call

Aiden stood in the rooftop garden of the estate, hands trembling as he dialled the number he’d long buried in his past.

It rang once. Then twice. Then—

“Hello, brother,” a voice said coolly on the other end.

“I need a favour Aiden said.

There was a pause.

“It’s about Ivy, isn’t it?”

“She’s pregnant. But there’s more—something… unnatural.”

The voice chuckled. “You finally found out. Welcome to the real game.”

“I want in.

Killian and Ivy sat across from one another, the tension between them palpable.

“She said I’d choose the wrong one,” Ivy whispered. “What does that mean?”

Killian ran a hand through his hair. “There’s an ancient belief—two children born of light and shadow. One destined to destroy Isla. The other destined to become her.”

“And no one knows which is which,” Ivy realized.

“Exactly.”

She looked at her stomach, fear twisting her gut. “So what do we do?”

“We separate them,” Killian said. “Before birth, if possible. Or right after. Keep them apart. Raise them differently. And train them both—one to lead, the other to resist.”

“But what if I choose wrong?” she asked, eyes brimming with tears.

“Then we lose everything.”

A knock echoed softly through the apartment. Ivy opened the door, expecting Killian or Mira.

Instead, Aiden stood there.

“I came back because I need to understand,” he said quietly.

She stepped aside, and he entered.

He didn’t look at her this time. His eyes went straight to her belly.

“I know this isn’t easy. But I’ve seen too many lies already. I want the truth from you now.”

Ivy took a shaky breath. “I don’t know whose child it is. But I do know something is wrong. Something… unnatural.”

Aiden met her eyes. “Then we fight it. Together.”

For a moment, Ivy felt relief.

Until Aiden added, “But only one of them gets to live.”

Before Ivy could respond, Killian stormed in, his eyes wild.

“I found something. A sealed file from the Syndicate. Ivy, you weren’t chosen randomly.”

“What are you talking about?” Ivy asked.

Killian handed her a photo—faded, old, and worn at the edges. A baby girl is led by two people in red robes.

“That’s you,” he said. “And those are your parents. They were part of the Syndicate’s inner circle. You were marked from birth.”

“I… I don’t remember them.”

“They disappeared when you were four. After a failed ritual. The same ritual Syra is trying to recreate now.”

Ivy’s knees buckled. Aiden caught her.

Killian’s voice dropped. “You’re not just carrying the key to Isla’s return. You are the key.”

At midnight, Ivy sat alone in her room, clutching the photo.

She looked at her reflection. Pale. Haunted. Changed.

Then her phone buzzed.

Unknown Number.

A single message.

> “The child must be delivered by the Blood Moon. Or we take both.”

A photo followed.

It was of her son.

Sleeping.

In her womb.

But taken from the future.