MasukI did not realize how tense I was until the door opened again.This time, I did not need to turn to know who it was.I felt him before I saw him.“Leave,” Vane said.His voice was calm, but beneath it was something that made the room shift instantly.The Russian did not argue. That was the first thing that caught my attention. He held my gaze for a second longer, something unreadable passing through his eyes, then stepped back and walked out without another word.The door closed behind him, and just like that, the tension changed.But it did not disappear.It just… redirected.Toward Vane.I turned slowly, my chest tightening as I looked at him. He stood by the door, his posture controlled, his expression unreadable, but his eyes were locked on me like he was trying to figure something out.Or maybe trying to decide something.Neither of us spoke at first.The silence stretched between us, thick and uncomfortable, filled with everything that had not been said yet.“You should not be a
I could not stop thinking about what I had seen.The way Cyrus stood there like he owned everything. The way the others obeyed without hesitation. The way that man screamed while they cut him apart like it meant nothing. It kept replaying in my head no matter how hard I tried to push it away. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again, clearer, louder, more real.This was not just some dangerous world.This was a different kind of reality entirely.And somehow, I was standing right in the middle of it.I shut the door behind me harder than I intended and leaned against it, pressing my head back as I tried to steady my breathing. The room felt too quiet compared to everything I had just witnessed. It made it worse. Silence gave my thoughts too much space, and right now, my mind was not a place I wanted to be.I dragged a hand over my face and pushed myself off the door, pacing slowly across the room. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be something I was missing. I could n
The house did not feel like home anymore. The moment I stepped in, something about the air felt wrong, heavy in a way that pressed against my chest and refused to let go. Bella was sitting on the couch, her fingers tightly intertwined, her gaze distant like she was trying to hold herself together. Lisa stood close to her, unusually quiet, while Riley hovered nearby, clearly confused but too tense to interrupt whatever was already unfolding between us.Elias was still missing, and that alone was enough to snap whatever patience I had left.I shut the door harder than necessary and walked in, my eyes immediately landing on Bella. “Tell me exactly what happened again,” I said, my voice controlled but firm.She looked up at me, her expression fragile but trying to stay composed. “We went to the hospital,” she began, her voice steady at first. “To remove my bandage. Everything was fine. He was normal. Nothing felt off.” She paused, her fingers tightening. “Then on our way back, he said he
The hallway felt longer now, stretching in a way that made every step feel delayed. My mind was running too fast, replaying everything, trying to fit pieces together that did not want to fit.My father. Killed.Not sick. Not weak.But Taken out.And my mother…I stopped walking.No.I could not finish that thought.It felt like betrayal in a way I did not know how to explain. Not just from them, but from my own memories. Everything I thought was real now felt like something carefully arranged.I ran a hand over my face and kept moving.I did not know where I was going until I found myself standing in front of a door I recognized.Vane’s room.My jaw tightened.For a second, I hesitated.Then I knocked.No response.I did not wait. I pushed the door open and stepped inside.He was there.Standing near the window, just l
I could not stay in that room another second. Everything felt wrong. The air, the people, the way they were all looking at me like I was something they already understood but I had no clue about. My chest felt tight, like I could not get enough air, like if I stayed there any longer, I would lose it completely. “I need to get out,” I said, my voice low but firm. No one stopped me this time, That was the part that scared me the most. I turned and walked away before anyone could say anything else. My steps were quick and uneven, but I did not stop. I did not look back. I just needed space. I needed silence. I needed to think without their voices twisting everything in my head. The hallway felt colder now. I could feel it Or maybe that was just me. I reached the first empty corridor I could find and stopped, pressing my hands against the wall as I tried to steady my breathing. My father was killed. The woman I called my mother was not my mother. Vane knew. All of the
“When were you ever going to tell me?”My voice came out sharper than I intended, but I did not care. It cut through the room, through the silence, through whatever control Vane thought he still had over this situation.He looked at me, his expression tight, like he had already expected this question.“I was trying to protect you,” he said. “I did not want you to be part of it.”I let out a short, disbelieving laugh.“But I am not part of it,” I shot back. “I never asked to be part of whatever this is.”I turned to him immediately, irritation flashing.“What is that supposed to mean?”His eyes held mine, calm and steady, like he had all the time in the world.“It means,” he continued, “you have always been part of this, Elias. You just did not know it.”My jaw tightened.“No. Stop doing that. Stop talking like everything is some kind of hidden puzzle. Just say it.”Cyrus smiled faintly.“Very well.”Something in my chest tightened without warning.“Your father,” he said, “did not die
The Lisbon apartment had one good feature: the balcony overlooked a narrow street where people actually lived. Not tourists. Not expats. Real people—old women hanging laundry at dawn, kids kicking a deflated soccer ball until it rolled into the gutter, a guy in a stained apron smoking while he swep
The front door slammed open so hard the crystal chandelier in the foyer rattled.I didn’t hear it at first—my ears were ringing, my head swimming in a thick fog of pain and shock. Victoria was still straddling me on the marble, her knees pinning my arms, the jagged shard of vase pressed to my throa
The utility room door stayed locked.No windows.No clock.Only the single bare bulb overhead, flickering every few minutes like it was tired of staying alive. The concrete floor was cold enough to ache through my sweatpants. I sat with my back against the metal door, knees pulled to my chest, arms
The Laurent estate looked different in daylight.No shadows to hide in. No night to blur the edges. Just stark white stone, manicured hedges, and a driveway that felt longer than it should. Vane drove. I sat in the passenger seat, hands clasped between my knees to keep them from shaking. My mother







