LOGIN“You better have a better explanation to give you traitor!” Gabrielle blurted out as soon as they had escaped. They had reached the upper deck, breathless and soaked with sea water. The sounds of the siren had faded, and the pier below them was a blur of flashing lights and rising water. Antonio leaned against the rail coughing. “ You were not supposed to activate the siren.” Gabrielle’s eyes were sharp. “ Supposed to? You betrayed me you wimp!” Antonio shook his head. “Cordelia wanted the vault closed if anyone opened it. It was built to seal whoever opened it , and drown the person with the sea water.” Alexa squeezed her dress, her eyes looking at Antonio suspiciously. “ You knew this all along?” Antonio nodded. “ But not in the way that you think. I decided to make it a duty to protect you guys whenever the need arises even though I am not allowed to speak of my involvement in everything.” “How do we know you’re saying the truth now?” Gabrielle snapped. “Can’t you see?” Ant
Dawn burned pale against the horizon when they reached the docks. Mist drifted over the water, swallowing the hulks of abandoned cranes and silent barges. Pier 9 stretched ahead like a scar across the bay with half-finished foundations, rusted girders, the bones of a dream that someone had decided to bury. Gabrielle stepped from the car first. The wind caught the edge of his coat and flung it around him like a banner. Alexa followed, clutching the envelope Cordelia had sent. Inside were architectural drawings printed on fine vellum, each sheet marked in the same crimson wax that sealed the invitation to the gala. “Looks like she wants us to admire her handwork.” Alexa said. “Or to step into it,” Gabrielle answered. They spread the plans across the hood of the car. What should have been clean engineering lines were interrupted by strange additions with sealed chambers beneath the main foundations, labeled only with initials. “These aren’t storage units,” Gabrielle murmured. “The
Two days later, an invite came, it was a heavy cream paper sealed with a crimson wax rose. It was an invite to madame Cordelia’s charity gala. Alexa turned the envelope over in her hands with a frown on her face. It was obvious the war had just started. “From the thorn?” Olivia whispered with hollow eyes. “Yes” “Are you in trouble Alexa?” Olivia sake with fear written all over her face. “I don’t think so, why did you say that?” Alexa huffed. “Well, I am not supposed to say this but, I met Antonio with a strange note days back. I think it was a threat, but he made me promise not to tell anyone.” Olivia confessed. Alexa smiled. That was one thing she loved about Olivia. Even though her running mouth can sometimes put her in trouble, she almost never hid anything from Alexa. “Don’t worry about it Olivia.” She patted her shoulder. “Promise me you won’t tell Antonio anything.” Olivia frowned. “I promise “ At the breakfast table, Alexa slid the invite towards Gabrielle. He sto
The entire room was blacked out except for the light from the projector. Lines of data scrolled past, with names, accounts, and encrypted messages under the council’s name.For a long time, no one spoke. Everyone watched in shock as a single file stopped the flow of the code. It was a payment order signed with the thorn’s digital seal.Murmurings filled the room as everyone shook their heads in disbelief. Madame Cordelia leaned closer to the table, tapping her fingers on the table.“Interesting. The signature really belongs to one amongst us.” She murmured.“Then who?” Gabrielle tensed.“Such things cannot be spoken in front of strangers and that is why we always meet in the shadows remember?” Madame Cordelia took a quick glance at Alexa.Gabrielle huffed and relaxed back on his seat.“For now, I’ll be in possession of the drive and find out the necessary information you all ought to know. For now, silence. Word about what happened in this meeting should not go out.” Madame Cordelia
Soon, morning came quickly, and Alexa stood at the entrance of the mansion, and watched as Gabrielle drove out with Antonio. Yesterday bore a torture that almost never ended. Alexa tried to keep her composure just so that Gabrielle wouldn’t notice. Olivia on the other hand was behaving funny. She waited until the car was out of sight before running upstairs to investigate the message sent to her. The screen glowed an innocent blue, no trace of the message, no strange icon. She had been waiting for the past two days to see if another message would be sent, but it never came. She opened the security log, and was surprised to see that there was an access ping from a foreign address, hidden behind layers of encryption. Whoever had sent the message had been inside the company’s servers and for a few seconds, inside hers. Her pulse quickened. All these warnings were threats that could take her life. She remembered how Gabrielle’s face looked that morning, how tired and vulnerable he
Later that night, the mansion is quiet, too quiet. Alexa stood by their bedroom window watching the rain blur the city lights below. She rubs the faint bruise on her wrist, wincing a bit from the pain. She had showered twice, but still couldn’t erase the memory of that man dragging her across the glass-filled floor. Gabrielle barged into the room, his eyes held a darkness she had never seen before. He paused, and let out a sigh of relief. “ I’ll make sure whoever did this pays dearly. I swear it.” He muttered. Alexa’s body shook as Gabrielle drew her into his embrace. She couldn’t control her emotions, and soon broke into tears. “You’ll be fine, you need to rest.” Gabrielle’s deep voice boomed in her ears. “ I can’t sleep. I’m scared he’ll come back again.” She managed to say. Gabrielle exhaled, a sound between a sigh and a growl. “ You see why I always insist you should stay back in the house? This is the only place you can be safe Alexa.” Alexa stepped back, as if Gabrielle







