LOGINThe moment I stepped out of the dining room, I knew something was wrong.Not regular wrong. Not Bella-finished-the-last-of-the-snacks wrong.The entire atmosphere of the mansion had violently shifted. People were moving at a dead sprint through the wider corridors. Heavily armed guards were muttering low, urgent commands into their earpieces, walking quickly past our small group with deadpan, lethal expressions. Nobody was relaxed anymore. The domestic illusion of the last hour had been thoroughly shattered.Dad walked several paces ahead of us now, his shoulders rigid, his entire facial structure looking different under the harsh corridor lighting.Earlier, back in the study, he had looked like my father. A tired, flawed guy who missed my childhood.Now? He looked like someone else entirely. Cold. Laser-focused. Exceptionally dangerous.And honestly? I didn’t like it. Not because it scared me—though it definitely made my skin crawl—but because it felt like I was looking at a complete
The walk to the dining room felt entirely too long. Too quiet.It felt as though the mansion itself was actively watching me move through its veins, calculating my every step. Adrian kept walking slightly ahead of us, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, casually humming a tune under his breath like he hadn't been an active participant in the psychological chaos he’d helped orchestrate just five minutes ago. I was silently making a mental note to strangle him later.Dad walked directly beside me. Not too close, but not too far away either. Just... there. His physical presence somehow felt significantly worse than if he had been talking nonstop, because the quiet was suffocating. I kept stealing sharp glances at him without meaning to, my brain still desperately trying to accept the reality of the situation. Still trying to accept him. Alive. Real. Right here.We finally reached the grand dining hall, and the heavy double doors swung open.I stopped dead in my tracks. For a second,
I wanted to disappear.physically disappear. Straight through the floor, straight through the foundation of the mansion, and straight into another universe entirely.Because Adrian was still sitting there with that profoundly stupid smirk plastered across his face, while Bella looked like she had just won the lottery and discovered the meaning of life all in one afternoon.I stared at him. He stared back. Smiling. Smiling. This actual genetic traitor was just grinning at me.“Bella,” I said, my voice dripping with forced, fragile calmness. “Hang up the phone.”“No.”“Bella. Please.”“Absolutely not.”I snapped my head toward Adrian. “You are officially dead to me.”He looked mildly offended, throwing his hands out. “I literally just complimented the depth of your friendship.”“You exposed me!”Bella was clutching her chest dramatically on the screen now, completely ignoring my distress. “Elias loves me. It’s a fact.”“Oh my God.”“Elias thinks I’m home.”“I said hang up!”Dad was sta
I typed out the first message, staring at the letters on the screen for a few agonizing seconds before hit send.Bella, don’t overreact.Then, before she could even type a response, I fired off the second one.I found out I have a brother.I stared at the screen, watching the interface intensely. Three little dots immediately popped up on the bottom left. Then they disappeared. Then they appeared again, bouncing frantically, before vanishing once more.Then, the floodgates opened.WHAT DO YOU MEAN BROTHER???I physically flinched, moving the phone a few inches away from my face. “Damn.”Adrian leaned forward in his armchair, looking at me suspiciously. “Who the hell are you texting that requires that much distance?”I ignored him entirely, watching another notification banner drop down instantly.YOU LEFT FOR A FEW HOURS AND UNLOCKED BONUS CHARACTERS????A sudden, sharp snort escaped my nose.Across the room, Dad raised a dark eyebrow at my outburst. Adrian, however, looked genuinely
The second I ended the call, the room fell dead quiet again.Too quiet.I slowly lowered my phone, the screen darkening in my palm, and looked up. Dad was still standing by the window, watching me with an expression that had hardened into something completely unreadable. He wasn't angry. He wasn't surprised. He was just... studying me, like a chess grandmaster analyzing an unexpected move from across the board.I stood up slowly, squaring my shoulders. “I’m leaving.”Silence.Then he let out a soft, heavy sigh and turned his back to me, staring out at the manicured grounds again. “You just got here, Elias.”I frowned immediately, the lingering warmth from Bella's voice evaporating into pure irritation. “That wasn’t a request.”“I know.”I stared at his back in absolute disbelief. “Then why are you talking to me like I actually have a choice in the matter?”He turned around slowly, lacing his fingers behind his back. “Because outside the gates of this estate, it is incredibly dangerou
For a second, I just stared down at the glowing screen.Bella calling.My heart actually skipped a beat. I hadn’t realized how desperately, how profoundly I had been craving the sight of that name until right this second. It felt like a lifeline thrown directly into the middle of my chaotic, drowning reality.I snapped my head up to look at Dad. He had clearly noticed the name flashing across the glass, too, but he didn't make a move to intervene. He didn't say a word, he didn't reach out to snatch the device away, and he didn't signal the guards. He just stood there, silently watching.My fingers moved entirely on instinct before my brain could even catch up, swiping the screen to accept the call. I pressed the phone hard against my ear.“Bella?”“Elias?!”I closed my eyes, a heavy shuddering breath escaping me. God, her voice. She sounded furious, terrified, intensely relieved, and ready to physically fight someone all at the exact same time.“Oh my God, Elias! Where the hell are y
I didn’t know how I was feeling.One minute I was driving back home to my parents like any normal Sunday, the radio humming quietly in the background, the late afternoon sun casting long golden streaks across the highway. My parents had specifically told me to bring Lisa home. They wante
Elias pushed the door shut behind him again.The soft click echoed through the quiet room.Nikolai hadn’t moved far from where he stood earlier, but the moment he saw Elias walk back in, something in his expression shifted. The calm amusement was still there… but now there was s
I’ve been staring at my phone screen for the last twenty minutes like it owes me money.No call from Elias.No text.Nothing.He’d promised he’d call once he finished unpacking. That was two hours ago. I kept refreshing the messages app, then locking the screen, then unlocking it again like the not
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







