Chapter 3

Elijah’s POV

The office was spotless.

The chandelier glittered. The blood was gone.

Like nothing ever happened.

But I could still feel her. Her scream. Her struggle. Her eyes —?

Klaus was already pacing.

He snapped something sharp in Russian. “Why the hell would you want the ghost knife? I'm the reason she was at the party in the first place.”

“She’s a loose thread,” I replied coolly, sitting at the desk. “I trick her in to finish her off. But first, I need to know who sent her.”

Klaus slammed his palm on the table, fury in his voice. He's never the type to calm down “She’s not going to die, Elijah. From now on, not a single drop of blood touches her skin — or I’ll burn your entire operation.”

I stared at him, unblinking.

“You think I’m afraid?” I stood. “I know you too well, Klaus. I know what you do when you’re angry. So leave. Now!. You’re not welcome here anymore.”

His jaw clenched.

“The next time you walk in here,” I warned, voice low and venomous, “I’ll take you straight to the pit where I buried your Ghost Knife alive.”

For a moment, Klaus froze. The tension carved between us like a blade.

He turned away slowly. Walked toward the door. Then, with that usual eerie calm, he whispered something to one of his guards.

I couldn’t hear it — but I felt it. And I didn’t like it.

( KATHERINE POV ).....

The realization hit harder than the bullet in my arm.

Klaus has a twin. A twin!!.

I kept my head low as the guards dragged me away. Not because I was weak — I was calculating. Thinking. How the hell did I miss this?

I’d studied him for months. Traced every whisper of his past. Every kill, every move, every secret woman, every coded tattoo. But not one damn word about a twin.

Either Elijah is the secret, or Klaus buried him so deep even the shadows forgot. And if that's true, then this empire isn’t just dirty — it’s layered in deception, and I just walked into hell without a match.

The guards shoved me into a different room.

Not a cell this time — it looked like a guest room stripped bare.

A woman walked in like she’d done this a hundred times. Her heels echoed. Her hands tossed a bundle at me — big oversized clothes: a loose top and trousers. Then another maid stepped in with a tray, dumping it on the ground like she was feeding a starving dog.

I stared at the mess.

“If you think I’m eating this, you’re insane.”

The woman just laughed, lips painted blood red. “Sweetheart, the De Lucas don’t feed people they plan to kill. I snuck this in. You should be grateful.”

She walked out. The door slammed behind her.

The guards clicked the lock. I was alone again — clothes in my lap, blood drying on my skin, and my stomach full of rage.

" i should be grateful ? " I wore the big oversized loose top

" Elijah De Luca?"

The food untouched, arms wrapped around my knees. My bleeding arm throbbed. My stomach growled.

But my mind?

My mind was replaying everything.

How the hell did I not see it?

Two of them. Two kings. One throne. And I walked into the middle, blind and bleeding.

Then — the click.

The door lock turned.

No voices. No footsteps.

No one was coming in ?

I stood slowly, each movement silent. I reached for the handle. Opened it.

No guards.

Just blood.

Two of the men who dragged me here lay dead. One with a knife buried in his throat.

I should’ve gasped. I smiled instead.

Either someone was helping me…

Or my crew finally found me.

I knelt beside the body, yanked the blade from his neck. It was warm. Clean enough.

I wiped it. Then moved.

I turned a corner — two guards. Eyes wide.

No hesitation.

The blade sank into the first one’s throat. The second raised his gun, but I was faster — sliced his face, then stabbed his chest. Both dropped, lifeless.

My bare feet slapped the marble floor.

I saw the sitting room doors — wide open.

Empty. Free.

I ran. Fast. Silent. Alive.

A guard stepped out of a hall — he gasped, want to shout.

Three stabs — one to the stomach, one to the ribs, one to the mouth.

He dropped.

" Katherine,"

And then — I froze.

“It took you quite a long time to come out.” a voice said smoothly.

I turned.

Klaus?.

Standing in the middle of the hallway.

Dark suit. Calm eyes. That fucking smirk.

He said my name like he owned it.

My hands tightened on the blade.

“How… how do you know my name?” I whispered.

Klaus smiled.

“Because, Katherine... I planned it all.”

He said it like he’d won.