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
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
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’
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 POVFor the first time in weeks, the morning was still.No court summons. No press statements. No chaos.Just the golden spill of sunlight across Alex’s bare chest as he slept beside me, one arm tucked under his head, the other curled protectively around my waist. I watched him for a moment, letting myself simply be—no masks, no fear. Just me. Just him.He stirred, eyes blinking open, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “Staring at me again?”“You talk in your sleep,” I teased, brushing a lock of hair off his forehead.He stretched lazily. “Let me guess. I professed my love and undying devotion again?”“You accused me of stealing the covers.”He chuckled, pulling me closer. “Well, did you?”“Absolutely,” I said with a grin, “and I’d do it again.”He rolled on top of me in one swift movement, bracing his weight on his forearms, eyes gleaming with mischief. “Thief.”“Guilty,” I whispered, breath catching as his lips found my collarbone. “But I’d like to plea for leniency.”“Denie
Sophia’s POVBy morning, the world had already taken sides.The news had spread like wildfire. My face was everywhere—headlines questioning my character, my daughter’s paternity, and my so-called lies. The media didn’t care about facts; they fed on scandal. Photos of Lina and Nathan were already being compared by strangers online. Hashtags trended. Conspiracy threads circulated like poison.It wasn’t just my name on the line anymore. It was Lina’s future. Her identity.I stood in front of the mirror in the penthouse bedroom, watching myself as Alex spoke quietly into the phone behind me. I was still wearing yesterday’s clothes, my hair a tangled mess, but none of that mattered. There was a fire in my chest now. An anger I hadn’t known I was capable of.“I don’t care what it costs,” Alex said, his voice low and sharp. “I want a full investigation into Victor’s finances and Chloe’s communications. Backdate it. Dig as far back as you need.”He ended the call and looked at me. “You okay?”
Sophia’s POVThe next morning arrived with a storm in its wake—figuratively and literally. Rain lashed against the windows of the penthouse, a dull gray mist casting a somber hue over the city. It mirrored my mood far too well.Alex had been up since dawn, pacing in his office, fielding calls from his legal team, PR experts, and Mark. I stood in the kitchen, staring into a cup of untouched coffee as Lina played quietly in the living room, her favorite sketchbook resting on her knees.But my mind was far from calm.Julian had promised to send over security footage—something he’d managed to obtain through one of his sources. Apparently, Nathan had been spotted meeting someone suspicious late last night. He hadn’t said who. Not yet.Just as I lifted the cup to my lips, Alex strode into the kitchen, his phone pressed to his ear. He gave me a tight nod before finishing the call and slipping the phone into his pocket.“Julian’s on his way over,” he said, brushing a hand over his jaw. “He sa
Sophia’s POVThe morning of the press conference arrived, and my nerves were a live wire beneath my skin. The media had been relentless since Nathan’s paternity claim went public, dissecting my past, my relationship with Alex, even my pregnancy. Every headline felt like a fresh wound. Alex stood beside me in front of the floor-length mirror in our bedroom, adjusting his tie. His reflection was all sharp angles and barely contained fury, but when his eyes met mine, they softened. “You ready?” he asked, voice low. I inhaled deeply, smoothing my hands over the sleek black dress I’d chosen—elegant, professional, unshakable. “As ready as I’ll ever be.” His fingers brushed my waist, grounding me. “Remember, we control this. Not him.” I nodded, but the weight of what we were about to do pressed down on me. This wasn’t just about refuting Nathan’s lies. It was about exposing him—and Chloe—for the manipulators they were. And Julian had given us the ammunition to do it. **********
Sophia’s POV The next morning, sunlight streamed through the curtains, casting a golden glow over the bedroom. But the warmth did nothing to ease the icy knot of dread in my stomach. I hadn’t slept. Every time I closed my eyes, Nathan’s words echoed in my mind—Is it mine?—followed by that chilling text. “See you in court, Sophia.” Alex stirred beside me, his arm tightening around my waist as he blinked awake. His dark eyes immediately found mine, concern flickering in them. “You’re still thinking about it,” he murmured, voice rough with sleep. I exhaled shakily. “How can I not?” He sat up, running a hand through his tousled hair before cupping my face. “Listen to me. He has nothing. No proof, no claim, no legal standing. This is just another one of his mind games.” I wanted to believe him but Nathan wasn’t the type to bluff. If he was threatening court, he had a plan. “He’s going to make this ugly,” I whispered. Alex’s jaw tightened. “Then we’ll be uglier.” Before
Sophia’s povNathan’s words hung in the air like a blade poised to drop. My breath hitched, my fingers instinctively curling into fists at my sides. Beside me, Alex went rigid, his grip on my waist tightening protectively. "What the hell did you just say?" Alex’s voice was low, dangerous. Nathan didn’t flinch. His dark eyes remained locked on mine, cold and calculating. "You heard me." He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a venomous whisper. "Is it mine?" The accusation was like a slap. My pulse roared in my ears, my stomach twisting with fury. How dare he?I didn’t even think—my hand flew out, the sharp crack of my palm against his cheek echoing in the night air. Nathan barely staggered, but his head snapped to the side, a red mark blooming on his skin. "You disgusting bastard," I hissed. Nathan slowly turned back to face me, his lips curling into a mocking smile. "That’s not an answer." Alex moved before I could, shoving Nathan back hard enough that he stumbl
Sophia’s POVThe dining room was suffocating. Crystal chandeliers cast a cold, glittering light over the long mahogany table, the same one where I’d endured countless silent meals as a child. The air smelled of roasted lamb and expensive wine, but beneath it all lingered something bitter—resentment, lies, and the unspoken war between us. Nathan sat directly across from me, his sharp jaw clenched, his fingers drumming impatiently against the tablecloth. His dark eyes flicked to mine, and for a second, I saw the same cold calculation that had haunted me since we divorced . Chloe, seated beside him, looked like the cat who got the cream, her lips curled in a smirk as she sipped her wine. My mother, ever the gracious host, gestured for the servers to begin plating the first course. “So,” she began, her voice too bright, “how have things been with the two of you?” I forced a smile, gripping my fork a little too tightly. “Busy, but good.” Alex’s hand found my knee under the tabl
Sophia’s pov“That lying ass bastard!” I said with my voice coated with anger. “Hey, calm down.”I turned to see Alex with a glass of vodka and he stood near Julian as he worked.“Why not get this to the police? Nathan and Chleo would have been able to manipulate the board.” I told myself, as I tried to calm down.“And you think they don't have the resources to actually manipulate the police also?” Alex eyebrows went up.“Not with the letter and evidence we have.” Alex said and my phone rang.I picked it up from the table to see Chole’s name on the screen. My heart clenched, hard.“Who is it?” I lookeded to Alex waiting for a response, “Chole.”“Well, what are you waiting for? Pick it up before she suspects something.”I exhaled and then pressed on the green button, bringing the phone close to my ears.“Hello.” I said, my voice was filled with hate.“Ah, sister, that's one way to end the day.” I could hear the sarcasm in her voice.I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to play any stup
Sophia pov The road to the North District was nearly empty. A trickle of lights passed like distant memories—quiet, flickering, unsure if they still belonged in the world we were trying to fix. Alex drove. One hand on the wheel, the other resting loosely near the gear shift, tapping like a metronome. I sat beside him, staring out the window, watching shadows dance behind the blur of trees and steel. We didn’t speak much. There was too much between us that hadn’t yet settled. Words still raw and tender. But there was something solid between us too—something that hadn’t shattered despite everything. The vault sat buried beneath an old postal annex, long decommissioned, its roof rusted and warped by time. Alex parked a block away. We went the rest on foot, slipping past broken fences and overgrown hedges. No security. No lights. No signs of life. Alex hesitated before we stepped inside, his fingers brushing the concealed gun at his side. I caught his eye, and he gave a subtle nod