LOGINELIX 147:“We’ll need someone like Noreo… he studies patterns, right?”“Yes, ma’am.”“He will observe first for several days until I'm satisfied he's gotten the blind spots correctly. I know the mansion’s blind spot. But, Renzo will be suspicious if I leave the rooms he expects me to be in.”She nodded again.“Arnie…” I paused briefly. “…she handles identities.”“Yes.”“She’ll get everyone inside without raising suspicion. If you go in, your mother will suspect you. But you'll tell her the staff routes, supply entries, and maintenance access ....”May’s breathing slowed, like she was trying to absorb everything.“Raven,” I said next.May stiffened slightly. “She doesn’t touch anything unless I say so,” I added immediately.Relief flashed across May’s face.“No explosions yet. Unless push comes to shove. Ya'll must escape at all costs. With or without your lives.”“Yes, ma’am.”I leaned in even closer now.“When you get inside,” I said quietly, “you don’t rush.”Her brows pulled togeth
ELIX 146:Music swallowed the shock in seconds.Bass thumped through the room, shaking the cheap walls and rattling the glasses lined across the rough wooden counter. Life resumed in that strange, broken way people like them understood best. May's friends started moving and talking. Before long, the body was dragged away like it meant nothing.And me? I walked past them without looking back at the body. A bottle was waiting for me at the make-shift bar and I'd be damned not to take a glorious sip out of it. ________________The make-shift bar was a plank of wood resting on stacked crates, bottles arranged without order, some half-empty, some untouched.I grabbed a bottle, took a shot, then another… the burn slid down my throat, tingling and satisfying. I turned to the sight on the floor. The blood was still there. It spread slowly across the floor, slipping into cracks in the tiles. Everyone was quiet when I killed him. That alone told me I had chosen correctly.This would be the
ELIX 145:The moment I stepped out of the hospital, the sun hit my face so hard that I had to raise my hand to shield my eyes. The brightness felt almost offensive. Why should the sun shine so brightly? Why was today looking like it was going to be a great day?I took a deep breath, dragging my hand down my face.“This life is so fucking hard,” I muttered under my breath, not even caring who heard me.For a second, I just stood there, letting the heat settle into my skin, letting the noise of the outside world remind me that everything was still moving… even if my father was lying half-dead in a hospital bed.“Ma'am?”I turned slightly.Leon was standing a few steps behind me, waiting for instructions.I waved him off. “Stay with my father. Don’t bother driving me.”“Yes, ma’am,” he replied immediately.I didn’t wait for anything else. I got to the car, slid inside, shut it firmly, and everything went quiet.It was just me now. My lips curled up in a smile. For eight years.Eight
ELIX 144:The glossy pages of the magazine flipped softly under my fingers as I leaned back in the chair, crossing one leg over the other while studying the latest bridal designs.The room smelled faintly of expensive air freshener, a strange scent that didn’t quite hide what had happened here earlier this morning.Still, I didn’t mind.If anything, it made everything feel…real.I tilted the magazine slightly and smiled.“What about this one, Father?” I asked.On the bed, Emilio didn’t respond.Of course, he didn’t.His body lay stiff, unmoving except for the slight tremor that ran through the left side of him every now and then. The right side remained completely useless, just as Leon had explained earlier.He was paralyzed.Just like that.This morning, Leon had told me everything in detail, and I had listened without interrupting.Apparently, Father had woken up in high spirits after a rather…eventful night. He had wanted to take his bath, insisted on it actually, despite the woman
ZARIA 143:He grinned wolfishly.And just like that, everything inside me snapped.Hatred rose so fast, so sharp, it almost choked me. It burned through my chest, clawing its way up my throat, mixing with something… something that made my fingers twitch with the urge to either touch him… or tear him apart.God.I wanted to slash him open and demand answers until his blood spelled them out for me. Renzo deserved to die or something for all the emotional torment he made me go through.Who the fuck did he think he was to summon me here? I wanted to run at him.But I didn’t move. I stayed seated, my nails digging slightly into my palm as I forced myself to remain still… even as everything in me screamed.What would I do to make him feel the heat of the past eight years? To feel him watching every move I made helplessly?While I was thinking of several ways to end him, Renzo shifted lazily in his chair, as none of this fazed him.I narrowed my eyes at him. Why was he acting like my presen
ZARIA 142:I eyed the man I had initially assumed was Renzo’s third-in-command.No, don’t get me wrong.There were two of them constantly hovering around me. One had been there since the very first night I arrived, familiar and watchful. The other was the head of security—the one who made it clear I couldn’t do as I pleased.Between the two of them, my every move was monitored, and it didn’t take much to guess they ranked high in his hierarchy.Nicholas was the familiar one, younger and unsettlingly similar to the VIP. Then there was Delt, the annoyingly stoic one who never let me step outside the rules.Right now, it was just the annoying one with me.Who knew where Nicholas had gone? Probably off to update Renzo about my every decision.I couldn’t believe this was happening to me.A bitter laugh slipped past my lips.Why did it feel like I had been dragged right back into Renzo’s life?Caged.Restricted.Cared for.That was the reality of being around Renzo Dominico. And honestly, I
ELIX “I’m sorry, ma’am,” Grace continued. “She’s been under a lot of stress.”I nodded once. “It’s fine. Accidents happen.”“Come, I’ll attend to that.” Grace gave May a worried look and gently guided her away, still apologizing, completely unaware of how close she had been to witnessing something
ELIX “Fucking idiots.” I kept my hand on the wheelchair handle long after the car doors shut with the engines still running because I needed the pressure under my palm.The doctor said Renzo was listening. Thankfully, I was present enough to catch those words. My lips curled delightfully at the fa
RENZO His jaw dropped. “What the—”I laughed, even as the nurse—Sabrina plunged a needle into my arm. The medicine burned, but my smile didn’t fade.“Do it,” I said softly.Asher didn’t argue again, not after the look I gave him. He stepped away from the bed while Sabrina finished taping the IV li
ZARIA I will never forget Rosita Dominico.Even if I lived a hundred lifetimes, even if I scrubbed Renzo’s name out of my mouth and memory until it tasted like nothing, Rosita would remain. She had a way of existing in the background that made her more oppressive than any presence. Rosita wasn't







