로그인The next morning felt strangely, unsettlingly normal.Strangely.Because I woke up, blinking against the sunlight filtering through massive velvet curtains, and for a few blissful seconds, I completely forgot where I was. I thought I was back in my cramped, slightly messy apartment, about to trip over one of Bella's stray shoes on my way to the kitchen.Then I actually looked around at the cavernous, high-ceilinged bedroom, the pristine furniture, the sweeping view of the estate, and reality slammed back into me like a physical blow.Right. Mansion. Dead father who wasn’t actually dead. Secret, mildly unhinged brother. Whole life completely ruined.Great. Phenomenal start to the day.I dragged myself out of the king-sized bed, brushed my teeth, changed into a clean set of clothes, and walked downstairs half-asleep, my boots clicking dully against the grand marble staircase.I was bracing myself for absolute chaos. I expected Adrian to jump out from behind a literal pillar just to anno
The room went dead silent.I was still awkwardly holding the pillow out like a shield. Adrian was still actively vibrating in his chair, trying and failing to hold back his laughter. And Dad was standing framed in the doorway, staring at the two of us with an expression of profound, radiating suspicion.Nobody moved. Nobody spoke.Then, Adrian completely and utterly betrayed me. He raised a hand and pointed a finger right at me. “He started it.”My head snapped toward him so fast I felt a pop in my neck. “What?!”“I was completely minding my own business.”I stared at him in absolute, jaw-dropping disbelief. “You literally climbed through my third-story balcony like a cat burglar!”Dad slowly turned his head to look at the open balcony doors, the curtains still fluttering slightly in the evening breeze. Then he looked back at Adrian. Then he looked back at me. For some reason, his face looked even less impressed than it had when he first walked in.I sat up quickly, dropping the pil
After whatever the hell that was downstairs, I wanted to evaporate.No, seriously. My dignity was still in critical condition. Kai and Nikolai had basically turned into a tag-team detective duo, exposing my deepest, most embarrassing habits to my father like they were presenting state's evidence in a high-profile court case.Worse yet? Dad had looked weirdly satisfied afterward. Like he’d just cracked a code. Meanwhile, I had been looking for the nearest window to throw myself out of.So, when a guard finally led me upstairs and opened the door to a massive bedroom, I walked in without a word. The heavy door clicked shut behind me, plunging the room into silence.I looked around slowly, my brow furrowing.Of course. Of course it was gargantuan.Huge bed. Huge television. Huge windows. Huge couch. Huge bookshelf. At this point, I was entirely convinced that rich people were just clinically terrified of small things.I collapsed onto the mattress dramatically, staring up at the ceiling.
The atmosphere inside the control room shifted the second the security gates groaned open.The casual chatter died instantly. The guards went rigid, Adrian stopped smirking, and even Dad fixed his gaze entirely on the monitors.Naturally, my eyes were glued to the screens too.Kai and Nikolai walked through the gates side by side, yet somehow they looked worlds apart. Kai walked with his hands shoved casually into his pockets, his expression calm but intensely focused. Nikolai looked colder. Much colder. His sharp eyes slowly swept over the perimeter, taking in the guards, the perimeter cameras, and the scale of the mansion itself.Then, his gaze lifted. Straight toward the lens. Straight toward me.My heart skipped a beat. For a fraction of a second, the rest of the room melted away."Damn," Adrian muttered under his breath, breaking the spell.I frowned, keeping my eyes on the screen. "What?""They look like they came to start a war."Before I could process that, Dad turned away fro
The 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,







