Chapter 53 – MiaThe morning sun filtered through the large windows, casting a soft glow over my room. The scent of fresh linen and the faint traces of antiseptic still clung to the air, a reminder of how close I had come to death. But that was the past. My body was healing, my strength returning. Now, there was only one thing left to do—find out who poisoned me and make them pay.I sat up, ignoring the slight pull in my muscles. Mimi had done a good job keeping me in bed these past few days, but I wasn’t fragile. I never had been. I wasn’t about to sit around while my enemies plotted their next move.The Vagaz twins.Their names sat bitter on my tongue. If they weren’t behind this, I’d cut off my own hand. They had the most to gain from taking me out, and even if they hadn’t personally poured the poison into my drink, I knew they were involved.I swung my legs over the edge of the bed, testing my weight as I stood. My balance was steady. My vision was clear. I was ready.Mimi wouldn’
Chapter 54 – Denial The training room was silent except for the rhythmic sound of my fists hitting the heavy bag. Each strike sent a sharp jolt through my arms, the impact echoing through the empty space. Sweat dripped down my temple, but I barely noticed. My breathing was steady, my focus razor-sharp.It had been three weeks since Mia left the clan. Three weeks since things settled, since the tension hanging over the estate had started to ease. My hand had healed completely—not that it had ever been a real concern. A minor injury, nothing more. The kind of pain I could ignore.Unlike the other weight that had been pressing on my mind.I tightened my stance and threw another punch, harder this time. The bag jolted violently, the chains above groaning from the force.I wasn’t restless.I wasn’t overthinking.I wasn’t—“You’re going to tear the bag off the ceiling if you keep that up.”I exhaled sharply, lowering my fists. Turning my head slightly, I saw Sarah standing near the entranc
Chapter 55: Unyielding.The training grounds echoed with the sharp sound of my fists slamming into the padded post, each impact sending a dull ache up my arms. Sweat dripped down my temple, soaking into my shirt, but I barely noticed. My breath came in steady, controlled exhales, my focus narrowing to the rhythm of my strikes.Left hook. Right jab. Pivot. Strike.Again.And again.I didn’t stop. Not when my knuckles throbbed. Not when my muscles burned with exhaustion. Not when my vision blurred at the edges from the sheer intensity of my training.I had to be faster. Stronger. Unstoppable.The sweat dripping down my back was proof of how far I had come since I left Dylan’s clan. My body had fully healed. The wounds, the bruises, the fatigue—gone. But I wasn’t just recovered. I was better. Stronger than before.Because I refused to be weak.Weakness had nearly killed me once. It had nearly cost me everything.And I wouldn’t make that mistake again.I shifted my stance, rolling my shou
Chapter 56. Hopefully, this ends soon.“Not if we hit them hard enough,” Mimi added. “We’ll have to move fast. We can’t let them get away again.”I ran a hand through my hair, ignoring the twinge of tension in my neck. “We don’t have enough people for a full-on assault. We need to get in, do the damage, and get out. Quick and clean.”Victor crossed his arms, studying me. “You think Dylan will help?”I clenched my jaw. “I’m not asking for his help.”Mimi’s eyes flicked to mine, and for a moment, she was quiet, then she nodded. “Fine. We can do this ourselves. But we’ll need full cooperation. No room for mistakes this time.”I felt my heartbeat pick up. This was it. This was the moment where we either succeeded or failed. No more second-guessing.I looked at the map again. “Here,” I said, pointing to a spot on the edge of the district. “We’ll set up our perimeter here. I want a team on the north and south sides to block any exits. Mimi, you’ll handle the ground team. Victor, you’re with
OChapter 57: Who did this to you? 29Betrayal had a scent.It clung to the air, thick and suffocating, long before you knew its source. And tonight, it reeked.I stood at the head of the war table, hands planted on the rough wood, staring at the mess in front of me. Scattered maps, overturned chairs, the aftermath of a meeting that had gone to hell. Liam paced the length of the room, jaw clenched, while the others lingered near the edges, quiet and tense.We had been exposed.Every detail of our planned ambush—every route, every fallback position, every goddamn move—had been fed to the rival clan. They were waiting for us when we hit their territory, weapons drawn, like they had rehearsed our attack a hundred times over.It wasn’t just a setback. It was a death sentence. We lost men. Good men. And someone had put them on the ground.“We’re not leaving this room until we figure out who did it.” My voice was ice, and the room responded with silence.No one moved. No one breathed too lo
Chapter 59: Twenty-Four Hours EarlierThe air in the war room was thick with tension. Maps, plans, and weapons were spread across the table in front of me, each detail meticulously marked, each decision weighted with the gravity of what we were about to do.Victor leaned against the far wall, flipping a knife between his fingers with practiced ease. Mimi stood by the table, her expression unreadable as she scanned the maps again, her eyes flicking over the marked territories, the planned attack routes, the locations of key targets.The Vagaz twins were dangerous, unpredictable, and utterly ruthless. We had waited for the right moment, biding our time, gathering information, and now it was time to strike.A soft knock at the door broke through the tension, and without waiting for permission, one of the clan members stepped in—Kara, one of our most trusted scouts.“Everything’s set,” she said, her voice sharp, urgent. “The twins are at the rendezvous point. We can hit them now, while th
Chapter 60: No Way BackThe SUV screeched to a halt, its headlights slicing through the dark. My pulse pounded in my ears, but I kept my breathing steady, fingers twitching toward my weapon. The doors swung open, and figures emerged—silent, calculating, armed to the teeth.Dante’s mercenaries.They weren’t here to negotiate.Mimi and I didn’t hesitate.I shifted my stance, muscles coiled tight despite the screaming pain in my ribs and shoulder. There was no room for weakness. Not now. The first man lunged, his blade glinting under the streetlights.Too slow.I pivoted at the last second, dodging his attack. My fist snapped up, striking his throat with brutal precision. He gagged, stumbling back, but I didn’t let him recover. I grabbed his arm, twisted hard, and drove my knee into his ribs. He crumpled to the ground with a sharp wheeze.Beside me, Mimi moved like a shadow—silent, deadly. She ducked under a wild swing, her knife flashing as she buried it deep in another man’s chest. Blo
Chapter 61: A Debt in BloodThe scent of antiseptic hung in the air, sharp and clinical, masking the faint traces of blood and sweat. The room was dim, only the soft glow of a bedside lamp illuminating the two still figures lying beneath the blankets.Mia and Mimi.They were out cold. The exhaustion, the pain—it had finally forced them under. Sarah had cleaned their wounds, stitched what needed stitching, and dosed them with enough painkillers to keep them from waking for a while. Even then, Mia had fought it, her body tensed like she was ready to bolt the second she could. Only when she physically couldn’t stay awake any longer did she give in.I stood at the foot of the bed, watching the slow, steady rise and fall of their breathing. My hands clenched at my sides, a storm brewing inside me.Someone had done this.Someone had set them up, left them to die, and if they had succeeded… if Mia and Mimi hadn’t been strong enough to survive…I exhaled sharply, forcing the thought down befo
Chapter 91: A Fiery Farewell and Forbidden FlamesMia's POVThe moonlight shimmered on the river like scattered silver, but all I could see was the boat cradling Mimi’s body, gently swaying as if the water itself mourned. Lanterns floated above, their flickering flames casting halos over the gathered clan. The air was thick with a reverence so heavy it made breathing feel like trespassing.I stood at the edge, feet planted in grass damp with dew, fingers clenched around a bottle of aged whiskey. My pulse thudded hard in my throat. This wasn’t how it was supposed to end.I couldn’t look away from Mimi—her dark curls pulled back with the crimson ribbon I had chosen, the familiar leather jacket resting on her shoulders like armor. The black dress hugged her like she still had somewhere to go. And in her hand, a single wildflower I had tucked there myself, picked just before the ceremony began.The silence was broken by Ashton’s voice. Rough. Shaky. Full of a grief I recognized too well.
Chapter 90 – Ghost Signal 2.Mia’s POVThe tires crunched against the gravel, loud in the otherwise deafening silence that filled the car. As the estate’s main entrance loomed before us, glowing faintly under the dim porch lights, the engine gave a soft sputter before Dylan brought the car to a stop.Before it even fully parked, I shoved the door open and stepped out.Cold air slapped my face, rustling strands of hair across my cheeks, but I didn’t react. My boots hit the ground with purpose—measured, unshaken. I didn’t wait for anyone. Not Dylan. Not the others.My hands were still. My breathing was level.And my face—stone.No grief. No rage. No tears.Only silence.Behind me, Dylan opened the back door with the kind of reverence that belongs to sacred things. He moved with slow, calculated care, like each gesture carried a weight he wasn’t allowed to fumble. And then he emerged, holding Mimi in his arms.Her body.Blood had dried on her skin and soaked into her clothes. Her curls,
Chapter 89: Ghost Signal(Mia’s POV)It started with a whisper. A feeling. Like something wasn’t right.The estate was quiet—too quiet. Victor had gone radio silent again, eyes always on the window, as if expecting someone to break through it. Alison kept herself busy, but I could feel her watching me when she thought I wasn’t looking. Everyone had their routines, their coping mechanisms.Except Mimi.She hadn’t shown up for breakfast. Or lunch. I hadn’t seen her since yesterday.I asked around.“Maybe she’s training again,” one of the guards said with a shrug.But someone else—one of the newer recruits—looked nervous. “I saw her,” he said quietly. “This morning. Thought I was imagining it. She was heading toward the north wall… looked like she was in a hurry.”A hurry?No one else saw her. Everyone was equally busy.Panic started to claw at my chest.I ran back to my room and grabbed my phone, praying she'd just gone on a walk and forgotten to text back. But there was nothing. No new
Chapter 87: Fractured LinesThe Betrayal(Mimi’s POV)Days passed in a haze after we returned to the estate.The bruises faded, but the weight didn’t. Victor was quiet—dangerously quiet—and Mia hadn’t left his side, except for the occasional walks to clear her head. Alison stayed alert, tense, as though expecting something to go wrong again. Me? I threw myself into training, cleaning, anything that could distract me from the feeling that we had failed.Then I got the message.MIA: “Need to talk. Alone. Same spot as before—urgent.”I didn’t hesitate.We hadn’t spoken since that night. Not properly. I figured she needed space, but the sudden text felt like a shift—like maybe she was ready. And I was desperate to fix the cracks between us. I didn’t even stop to wonder why she wanted to meet alone, or why she sounded so... unlike herself.I slipped out past midnight, using the gaps in the estate’s new patrol routes. The wind bit at my skin, and the forest whispered warnings I chose to ign
Chapter 87: Fractured Lines### Part I – My Descent (Mia’s POV)I remember the cold bite of the night air as we slipped out from behind the high walls of Dylan’s clan estate. I, Mimi, and Alison had long shared a rebellious streak, but tonight—tonight it felt different. There was an intensity in our hearts, a mix of defiance and dread. We’d disobeyed orders once more, driven by the desperate hope of finding Victor before something irreparable happened to him. I clutched my side, not from pain but because my pulse roared in my ears as we crept through the labyrinth of back alleys.The moon was a thin crescent in the sky, and its pallid light barely touched the ground. “We shouldn’t be this far out,” Alison whispered, her eyes darting around in the darkness as though expecting danger at every turn. I couldn’t help but agree. But every step was driven by the memory of Victor’s last call—a single, cryptic text that hinted something was very, very wrong.Following a series of hastily scraw
Chapter 86: Disappeared I tapped my fingers against the edge of the table, my gaze flicking toward the door for what had to be the tenth time that morning. The estate was unusually quiet—not that it was ever particularly loud—but something felt... off. It had been nagging at me all day, a persistent itch at the back of my mind.Mimi sat across from me, idly spinning a ring around her finger. She hadn’t said much, which was unusual. Normally, she had something to complain about, something to gossip about, or some ridiculous scheme to rope me into. Today, though, she was just as distracted as I was.I finally voiced what had been bothering me. “Hey… have you seen Victor lately?”Mimi stopped playing with her ring and frowned. “Now that you mention it… no. Not in a while.”A small crease formed between my brows. “Yeah. Me neither. I thought maybe I was just missing him, but it’s been—what? A week?”“At least.” Mimi sat up straighter, her gaze sharpening. “Victor doesn’t just disappear.
Chapter 85: The Truth Beneath the SurfaceMimi finally spoke, her voice quiet. “I had no idea.” She met my gaze, something like guilt flickering in her usually confident eyes. “About your father, I mean. My father’s group… they destroyed a lot of lives. But I never knew yours was one of them.”I studied her for a moment, then shrugged. “It’s not like you had anything to do with it, you were just a toddlar like I was.”She didn’t look convinced, but she nodded anyway.Dylan tilted his head slightly. “So? Now that you know, what are you going to do with it?”I thought about that. About Ray, about my mom, about how knowing the truth didn’t change much—but at the same time, it changed everything.Then, I smirked.“Nothing,” I said easily. “Just thought you two should know.”Dylan let out a quiet chuckle. “Typical.”I stretched, letting the weight of the conversation settle. And then, because I couldn’t resist, I added, “Though, there is one thing.”Mimi raised a brow. “What?”I grinned, m
Chapter 84: The Truth Beneath the SurfaceI checked my phone for the third time, pressing the call button and holding it close to my ear. The silence in my room was absolute, the soft hum of the city beyond my window the only background noise. No static, no strange interruptions.No one was listening.I took a deep breath and dialed.The call barely rang twice before my mother picked up."Mia?"Her voice was the same as always—warm, steady, familiar. It made me think of childhood memories filled with home-cooked meals and gentle lullabies. But there was also something else now, an underlying concern."Yeah, Mom. It's me," I said, settling onto my bed, pressing my back against the headboard."Is everything alright?"I hesitated. How was I even supposed to start this conversation? But I needed answers, and she was the only one who could give them to me."Yeah, I just… I wanted to ask you something."A pause. "What is it?"I swallowed, glancing at my locked bedroom door as if expecting s
Chapter 83: The Dawn Before the StormThe morning arrived quietly, as if it were the soft prelude to an overture that had yet to unfold. In the dim light of early day, I found myself awake in a solitude that felt almost sacred —a pause before the crescendo of events that would later alter the course of my night. Every minute of that morning carried a sense of both anticipation and introspection, a tender space where memories of yesterday blended with the elusive promise of what was to come.I lay in bed, cocooned in the faded linens that had borne witness to many restless nights, and listened to the gentle hum of the city beginning to stir. Outside, the first hints of daylight crept over the horizon, casting long, gentle shadows across the worn wooden floorboards. The quiet was profound, filled with the unspoken possibilities that only early morning can hold. It was a time when the world seemed to be holding its breath, awaiting a signal to burst into life.As I slowly sat up, the