LOGIN๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ซ The marble floor of the executive boardroom felt less like polished stone and more like an arena floor after a battle. Sterling and the three remaining board members filed in behind us, their movements were hesitant, like old wolves sensing a dangerous shift in the pack's dominance. Vanessa had been dragged toward the estateโs private security holding cells down the west gallery, her screaming, clawing protests fading into the heavy limestone walls leaving behind only the lingering residue of her expensive perfume and the shattered illusion of her ghosthood. Valerie walked directly to the far end of the mahogany conference table, smoothed the lapels of her charcoal suit, and sat at the head chair; the seat traditionally reserved for the chairman of St. Claire Global. "A spirited performance, Elara," Valerie said, setting a slim silver flash drive on the glass center of the table. Her tone was patronizing, carrying the cool detachment of a
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ซ๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ฐ The foyer suspended itself in a sudden, oxygen-deprived vacuum. "A third?" Vanessaโs voice dropped its silk purr, sharpening into an ugly, unscripted screech. "What ridiculous dementia is this, Sterling?" The elderly board member, Arthur St. Claireโs former right hand, didn't answer her. His brass-tipped cane clicked against the marble as he stepped past Vanessaโs frozen form, his rheumy eyes fixed entirely on the woman stepping through the threshold. She moved not with the wild desperation of my own terror, nor with Vanessaโs practiced, theatrical grace. She moved with a calculated, surgical stillness. She wore an immaculate charcoal tailored suitโa mirror image of Killianโs armor and her dark hair was pinned up in a strict, ruthless chignon. Her face was our face. The exact brow, the high cheekbones, the full lips. But her eyes held a hollow, chilling detachment that made even Killianโs icy demeanor seem human. Killianโs hand didn't release
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ฐ๐จ ๐๐ซ๐ฌ. ๐๐ญ. ๐๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ซ๐๐ฌ The air in the nursery shattered. "The real one," Rose had whispered. Those three words; her first in half a year should have been a miracle. Instead, they felt like a death sentence. I stood paralyzed at the window as the woman in the black veil glided toward the manorโs front steps. She moved with an eerie, practiced elegance, as if she hadn't been "dead" for six months but had merely been waiting in the wings for her cue. "Rose, stay here," I commanded, my voice cracking. I didn't wait for a response. I turned and ran, the heavy silk of my wedding gown billowing around me like a white shroud. I reached the grand foyer just as the massive oak doors swung open. Killian was already there. He stood like a statue carved from obsidian, his back to me. The woman stepped inside, pulling back her veil with a gloved hand. The air left my lungs. It was like looking into a distorted mirror. She had my eyes, my jawline and my height. But wher
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ฌ๐ The sun rose over the St. Claire estate not with warmth, but with a clinical, blinding glare that exposed every crack in the manorโs ancient facade. I hadn't slept. I sat on the floor of the North Room until the early hours, clutching that crumpled birth certificate like a shield. If the document was real, Killian wasn't just my employer or my enemy; he was the man standing between me and my rightful name. But more terrifyingly, he was the man who had just promised to marry me to satisfy a blood feud. A sharp knock at the door startled me. Mrs. Halloway entered, followed by two women carrying garment bags that looked like they contained clouds of white lace. Their faces were masks of professional indifference. "Mr. St. Claire has requested you be ready by ten," Mrs. Halloway said, her voice devoid of its previous pity. She looked at the mannequin in the corner and then at me, her lips thinning into a straight line. "The lawyers are already in
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ก๐๐๐จ๐ฐโ๐ฌ ๐๐ซ๐๐๐ญ๐ก The silence that followed the note sliding under my door was louder than any scream. I stared at the crude crayon drawing; the red Xs over the motherโs eyes, the chilling claim that she was still within these walls. My breath hitched; a jagged sound in the tomb-like stillness of my room. He didn't kill her. Sheโs in the North Room. I looked at the hospital bill on my nightstand. This was the moment I should have packed my bags. I should have climbed out the window, run past the gravel driveway, and never looked back. But the locket; the broken gold chain still biting into my palm held me captive. If my mother had lied about my face, she had lied about everything. And the only man with the answers was the monster currently smashing glass in the dining hall. I waited until the sounds of Killianโs rage subsided into a heavy, suffocating quiet. Creeping to the door, I pressed my ear against the cold oak and I heard nothing. I turned the handle;
๐๐ก๐ ๐๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐๐ซ The gown Mrs. Halloway had left on my bed was a deep, bruised plum. It was far too expensive for a nanny, and as I zipped it up, the silk felt like a second skin; one that didnโt belong to me. I looked in the mirror and barely recognized the woman staring back. The desperation was still in my eyes, but the dress made me look like I belonged in the St. Claire lineage. It was a lie I had to wear. Dinner was served in a dining room that could have hosted royalty. A long, mahogany table stretched between us, and at the head sat Killian. He had changed into a black tuxedo, looking every bit the lethal aristocrat. To his right sat Rose. She was a miniature porcelain doll; her dark hair perfectly curled, but her eyes were vacant and fixed on the empty plate in front of her. She still clutched the eyeless doll. "Sit," Killian commanded without looking up from his wine. I took my seat across from Rose. The silence was deafening, broken only by the rhyt







