LOGINArianna’s POVI arrived at the location my big sister sent me almost twenty minutes late. It wasn’t entirely my fault—Aiden’s house sat on a private road, far away from other residential areas, and getting out of there always took longer than expected. Still, knowing her, I prepared my best apology smile. She wasn’t particularly fond of being out in public spaces, so if she had chosen this place, she must have been in a rare, generous mood. That only made my lateness worse.“You’re finally here.”Her voice came from behind me. I recognized it instantly.I spun around and rushed toward her, wrapping her in a tight hug. “Big sister! I’ve missed you so much,” I said quickly, pulling back just enough to admire her. “And wow—your skin looks even better than before. It’s so smooth! You need to teach me your routine.”She let out a soft laugh, clearly amused, and ruffled my hair before pinching my nose. “My little pumpkin,” she teased, “you’re getting very good at sweet-talking.”Her hand sl
Arianna’s POVThe past few days had been uneventful—and honestly, I wasn’t complaining.For once, I wasn’t at the center of any chaos, and in my defense, I was tired of always being dragged into drama I didn’t ask for.Instead, I buried myself in my books.I had spent every waking hour studying as if my entire future depended on it—because, in a way, it did. When I thought about my dreams, about the life I wanted beyond all this, graduating high school wasn’t just important—it was necessary. It was my escape, my foundation, my only real shot at something bigger.What I hadn’t anticipated, was just how exhausting it would be.The amount of work I had to put in was insane. My grades were a disaster—an actual red carpet of failure laid out for everyone to see—and fixing them felt like trying to patch up a sinking ship with a needle. I did have help, of course, but that didn’t magically make everything easier. At the end of the day, I was still the one who had to cram all that informati
“I said bring two of them alive, didn’t I?” I snapped at Q, my voice cutting sharply through the thick, smoke-filled air. The aftermath of the operation still lingered around us—burnt metal, shattered glass across the floors, and the faint scent of blood mixing into something almost suffocating.“Well, that was the plan,” Q replied with a careless shrug, completely unfazed. “But I couldn’t help it when he barfed all over my gear. It’s quite expensive.”I groaned loudly, pressing my fingers against my temple as a dull headache began to form. Sometimes, Q was nearly impossible to deal with. Killing a man because he ruined a set of equipment was excessive—even by our standards.My ruthlessness belonged in the business world, where decisions were calculated and consequences controlled. But Q… Q was chaos in human form. Unpredictable. Detached. Dangerous in ways that couldn’t always be justified.Letting out a slow breath, I forced myself to move on. “What about the others?”“Their bodies
Aiden's Pov In exactly five minutes, we entered our base grounds—what was left of them. Debris littered the area like scattered bones, and burnt-out buildings stood as hollow shells of what had once been state-of-the-art military facilities. Now, they were nothing but ash and ruin, silent witnesses to a calculated destruction. What had taken me over a year to build had been reduced to dust in a single day. One day. And by an organization that was nearly invisible. It was as if their entire existence depended on secrecy. Before their recent attacks on my life and operations, they had moved like ghosts—silent, precise, and utterly untraceable. They erased their tracks faster than I ever thought possible, proving that their roots ran far deeper than anyone could have imagined. The screeching of tires snapped me out of my thoughts, dragging me back to the present. We had already passed through our hidden defenses. Which meant we had just driven straight into the line of f
Aiden’s POV It had only been a few days since I left her, yet she lingered in my mind like a shadow I couldn’t outrun. Every detail of her was etched into my thoughts—her delicate, pointy nose, her smooth, almost unreal fair skin, the way her jet-black hair framed her face, and most dangerously, her smile. That smile had a way of disarming me, of making a man like me forget the chaos that surrounded his life. Damn. She was driving me insane, and for the first time in a long while, I couldn’t even deny it. The past few days had been nothing short of torture. Distance wasn’t something I handled well, not when it came to her. Every mile between us felt like a deliberate punishment, and it pushed me harder than ever to complete the objective that had brought me here. I needed this done—quickly, efficiently—so I could return to her. Upon arrival, my team received me at the airport without delay. They escorted me straight to our base, despite the fact that it had already been compromi
Arianna’s POV I paced the hallway just outside my father’s office, more loudly than I realize, my unease growing rspidly. The familiar corridor felt strange—almost foreign—like a place I had once belonged to but no longer recognized. The dull, monotone colors that once defined my father’s workspace were gone. Now, bright colors splashed across the walls, furniture, and even the curtains. It felt… wrong.I wasn't being quick to judge, it was simply a fact, her dedication to bright colour was insatiable, always hungry like a vampire draining blood from its victims. This was definitely my stepmother's doing!!! I hadn’t been here in years, but this? Definitely not my father's office. It looked more like a daycare than the headquarters of a powerful enterprise. “Arghhhh, this woman!” I groaned under my breath, dragging a hand down my face in frustration. Without realizing it, I had begun speaking out loud. “Well… I guess I could try something,” I muttered, tapping my chin. “Take a
What is going here, is this an office or a circus Secretary Marcus barked. Seeing him personally and so closely made the once vicious staff timid, as if someone had pulled the plug on their courage. The same employees who had circled Chloe maliciously now stood frozen, their metaphorical tails tuc
Chloe’s face kept changing in horror, the shock still rippling through her like cold water running down her spine. She couldn’t believe what had just happened—one moment she had merely stepped through the lobby doors, and the next she had become the center of a hostile spectacle.By now, a small cr
Arianna’s ear kept buzzing, mostly because Chloe had made it a mission to hum endlessly about the gifts she had been receiving—from school all the way home, and even after they settled in her room. After hours of gentle pushing, teasing, and dramatic sighs, Arianna finally opened up about the contr
Third POVArianna warily untied the ribbon on the package, her fingers trembling slightly. Chloe had moved away, leaving her momentarily alone, yet Arianna couldn’t shake the tension that crawled up her spine. Every sense was alert.The situation was suspicious—terrifying, even. A package had arriv







