LOGINThe smile never left Amara's face during the long walk back. 'Elder Brother is awake inside Freya.'She thought about what the remaining sisters had become and felt satisfied. Once the sacrifices were ready, they would be ready as well.One by one, the other brothers would find their places. And then what would Arthur amount to?Her lip curled in contempt. It was like a tiny insect looking up at the divine. As for the sacrifices, Jason should have obtained the tokens by now.That would be enough to awaken one brother. The others were still inside Draconox, which made Draconox the next target.Her smile deepened, but it vanished the moment she arrived home."What do you mean Freya is gone?" She yanked Jason off the ground by his collar before he could finish speaking."She was gone when I got back. I don't know when it happened."He looked terrified on the outside. Inside, he was cursing without restraint, 'You told me not to watch her. You said you had something important to do
"Giana!""Giana!"Diana and Hilda helped Giana inside and settled her into a chair.People liked to say strength appeared when it was needed, but that was only another way of describing endurance. If a woman had the luxury of staying gentle, none of them would choose to grow thorns.They had barely caught their breath and managed only a few hurried sips of water when slow, deliberate applause echoed from outside."That's the Chamberlain women for you. That kind of backbone doesn't come from nowhere."They looked up. Hilda let out a delighted cry. "Amara!"Amara stepped through the doorway at her own pace, completely unhurried."Amara!" Diana and Giana echoed the greeting, but unlike Hilda's excitement, their voices carried something else: wariness.Giana pulled away from Hilda's support and got to her feet. "Amara, what brings you here?"Amara walked inside without waiting for an invitation. She swept her gaze over the room, let out a quiet sound of contempt, and pressed her
The neighbors' wall of numbers made Hilda instinctively step back. She ducked behind Giana.Diana flinched as well, leaving Giana standing alone at the front."It's all right." Giana placed a hand on each of them before stepping forward."Fine. We'll leave. But you're returning every cent of our rent. Every single one." Her voice remained calm and flat. "We have nothing left to lose. If you want us out and refuse to return our rent, then let's see what tonight brings. Let's see how many of us end up bleeding."She reached over and picked up the iron-handled shovel leaning against the doorframe. "Come on, then."The crowd froze. Every eye turned to the landlady.The landlady's expression darkened. She had pushed this far because she believed the sisters were soft. They had always given in when threatened or outnumbered. She had been certain they would give in again.'Did I finally push too far?' The thought crossed her mind, but she refused to back down.She stepped directly in
"I want you out. I'm not replacing furniture every other week," the landlady said.Giana stepped in front of Hilda and faced the landlady. "I'm sorry about my sister's tone. What happened this morning has been resolved. It won't happen again. Please, just let us stay."The landlady lifted her chin. "Absolutely not."Neighbors began drifting out of their homes.She raised her voice another notch. "Everyone, listen to this. These women owe money to people you don't want showing up on this street. Now they're standing here telling me it won't happen again. Who believes them? Does anyone here actually believe them?"Heads shook all around."If their word meant anything, how did they end up in this mess in the first place?""Exactly. You think those people are going to accept promises from women like this?""If I were you, I'd throw them out tonight. You saw what happened today. The rest of us still want to live here in peace."Voices piled on top of one another, and not a single o
"The last time we saw Oscar, he seemed fine. That was only a few days ago. How did he end up looking like this?"Giana's question drew the others closer around the phone.If the news article had not identified him by name, none of them would have recognized the man in the photograph."They're exaggerating it for clicks." Hilda wore a dismissive expression. "We used to pull stunts like that all the time. He probably saw public opinion turning against him and decided to make himself look pitiful. He's just fishing for sympathy."She paused. "Honestly, he deserves it. This is divine retribution."Giana ignored her and held the phone out to Diana. "Diana, you're a doctor. Can you tell what's wrong with him from the photograph?"Diana took the phone. She had been so preoccupied with Freya that she had barely noticed the image before.Now she studied it carefully. Her brow furrowed. "Hair loss. Skin discoloration. Premature aging. This looks like late-stage cancer."She hesitated. "B
"Diana? Elara?" Hilda rushed over. "What are you doing back here? What happened?"Elara's return was one thing, but Diana was supposed to be at the hospital with Freya."Giana! Hilda!" Diana's face lit up the moment she saw them. "You're back. Did anyone hurt you? Are you both all right?"She quickly looked them over, checking for injuries."Diana, we're fine. Nothing happened to us."Diana shot a glance toward the landlady's door. Something shifted behind it. "Let's go inside. We'll talk there."The apartment was still a wreck. Diana and Elara had returned so worried about everyone else that neither of them had even thought about cleaning."We're completely fine. The landlady exaggerated."After hearing Diana's account, Hilda waved a hand. "We went on our own. Mr. Vaughn was going to help us get justice..."She trailed off as Rebecca's face flashed through her mind."Well, we went looking for a win and didn't quite get one. We came back with our tails between our legs."Gia
Black storm clouds pressed low over the Percham District.Beneath them, narrow lanes packed tight with men in black jackets and trousers stretched into the distance, cold steel gripped in their hands.Rain struck the blades, and each metallic ring sliced through the night like a warning."Shut th
"That little bastard," Bella snapped as soon as she stepped through the door. "He's gotten real bold."She tossed her umbrella onto the floor and dropped onto the sofa, her cheeks still tight with anger.Amara entered with a cup of coffee, stirring it in slow, steady circles.The other sisters dr
"Miss Bella, you're here!"Unlike Oscar, the Chamberlain sisters lived in the spotlight. They made headlines almost daily. In Silverton, nearly everyone recognized them.Victor hurried to drag over a stool. He wiped it down with his sleeve and offered it to Bella.She glanced at it. Disgust flick
"Victor, we really have no money left!" George dropped to his knees. "We already repaid the 60,000 dollars we borrowed from you. Over the years, it was 6,000 here, 6,000 there. Now it's somehow 600,000? How are we supposed to come up with that?"He pressed his forehead to the floor. "Please. Leave







