LOGINThe rain poured down in sheets, but the world around Mira had completely frozen.Her eyes were locked on the paper lying in the mud. The faded ink, the official seal, and the name staring back at her like a bad joke.*Adopted Child: Alade.*And right above it, listed as the legal guardians who signed the surrender papers twenty years ago, were two names she never expected to see together: *Arthur Harrison* and *Victoria Alade*.Mira looked up, water streaming down her face, mixing with the hot tears pricking the corners of her eyes."What... what is this?" Mira whispered, her voice shaking so badly she could barely get the words out. She looked from the paper to Daniel, who was standing there like a statue carved out of ice and pure dread. "Daniel. Tell me this is a joke. Tell me this is fake paperwork from your crazy uncle."Daniel didn't answer. He didn't deny it. He just stared at her, his grey eyes heavy with a dark, suffocating secret that he had apparently carried for a decade.
The glowing screen of Mira’s phone flashed a harsh white light against her face.*Run, don't look back.*Simple words. Clear instructions. But right now, Mira’s legs felt like they had been filled with wet cement.*Click.*The brass door handle finished turning. The heavy mahogany door creaked open, just an inch, letting a draft of freezing, metallic air flood the dark library."Maya," Mira whispered, her voice shaking so badly she could barely form the syllables. "Who is outside?"Maya didn't answer. She was backed up against the mahogany desk, her eyes wide, staring at the opening door like a deer caught in high beams.*Screeeech.*The door opened wider. Whatever was dragging behind whoever was out in that hallway made a horrible, scraping sound against the polished wood floor. *Metal on marble. Iron on wood.*Mira’s brain finally kicked out of freeze mode. Survival instinct took over."We are not waiting to find out if they brought snacks," Mira hissed.She grabbed Maya’s cold hand
Life in Hudson Mansion had finally settled into a rhythm that almost felt normal. Well, "normal" if your definition of normal involved armed security guards eating doughnuts in the breakroom, an IT guy who doubled as an Interpol spy, and a billionaire boss who bought you dinosaur socks just to see you roll your eyes.Three months had passed since the great Uncle Richard disaster. Mira’s mother was back at home in her own apartment, fully recovered, happily bragging to all her neighbors in Mushin about how her daughter’s "rich boyfriend" had paid off her medical bills and bought her a brand-new television. Mira had tried—repeatedly and with a very red face—to explain that she and Daniel were just *employer and employee*, but her mother only laughed and told her to stop speaking English with an American accent.In the mansion, things were peaceful. Too peaceful.It was a rainy Tuesday afternoon in upstate New York. The kind of gloomy, wet day where the sky looks like a wet dishcloth and
The living room went so quiet you could hear a single bumblebee buzzing outside. Which was fitting, considering Mira was currently wearing the socks to prove it.The gorgeous woman in the designer pantsuit—let’s call her Lady Terror Number Two—tapped her high heel against the polished marble floor. *Click. Click.*"Well?" she prompted, sweeping her icy gaze from Daniel’s rigid posture down to Mira’s bee socks. "Are you going to introduce your little garden gnome, or should I call pest control?"Mira’s jaw dropped. *Garden gnome?!* She opened her mouth to deliver a blistering response involving fashion choices and basic manners, but Daniel spoke first."Elena," Daniel said, his voice dropping into a tone so cold it could freeze the Atlantic Ocean. "What are you doing back from London? Your flight wasn't scheduled until Thursday.""I changed my ticket," Elena replied smoothly, stepping closer and giving Daniel a look that suggested she expected a grand, romantic embrace. When Daniel did
Green smoke was everywhere. It smelled like a mixture of rotten eggs and cheap fireworks, making everyone cough like they had swallowed a bucket of dust."My chest!" Uncle Richard wheezed, stumbling backward into a side table and knocking over a very expensive porcelain vase that shattered into a million pieces. "Who threw that?! I have asthma!""Shut up, old man!" Axel yelled through his teeth, pulling his shirt up over his nose and grabbing his gun again. "Jace, cover the windows! Boss, get Mrs. Alade out of here!"Through the thick, choking fog, that red laser dot stayed glued right to the center of Daniel’s chest. A second red dot appeared, landing right on Jace’s forehead. And then a third one, dancing playfully across Sienna’s expensive designer handbag."Hey! Don't put that laser on my Fendi!" Sienna shrieked, batting at the red light like an angry cat. "Do you know how much this bag costs?!""Sienna, shut your mouth before someone turns us into barbecue!" Arthur Harrison snapp
Total darkness is one thing. Total darkness inside a billion-dollar fortress belonging to a mafia-adjacent billionaire while an evil uncle breaks in? That is a whole different type of panic."Why did the light go?" Mrs. Alade asked calmly, taking another sip of her tea like she was sitting at a peaceful village square instead of a horror movie. "Madam Benson, hope this is not the usual NEPA problem?""Mama, this is America, there is no NEPA here!" Mira hissed, jumping to her feet and accidentally tripping over her own bee socks. She hit the floor with a loud *thud*."Ow! My knee!""Mira, stay down," Daniel ordered in a low, sharp whisper.Even in the pitch black, Mira could feel the sudden, heavy shift in the room. Daniel was no longer the relaxed boss who was joking about her burning water. In two seconds flat, he was back to being the terrifying, cold-blooded commander.Axel and Jace moved instantly, their boots clicking softly against the marble as they melted into the shadows of t







