ログイン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 walk downstairs felt longer than it should have.Every step echoed in my ears, too loud, too sharp, like the house itself was paying attention. Watching me. Waiting for me to make the wrong move.I kept my face neutral, but inside, everything felt tight.The men who had been laughing earlier were now standing in small groups, speaking in low tones. No one was relaxed anymore. No one was drinking. It felt like something had shifted, like whatever this was had moved from casual to serious.My eyes moved across the room slowly.Then I saw him.Cyrus stood near the center, one hand in his pocket, the other holding a glass he was not drinking from. His posture was calm, controlled, like always, but there was something else there now.And beside him—My breath caught slightly.Vane.For a second, my brain refused to process it. Vane was supposed to be in Chicago.But he was here.Standing next to Cyrus like this was normal. Like this was where he belonged.“Elias,” Cyrus said smoothly,
The blow came faster than I expected.Not a slap. Not a backhand. A full, closed-fist right hook that caught me square on the jaw and sent me flying. My knees buckled before I even registered the crack of bone against bone. I fell down hard had to wedge with my palms, then my cheek, rough wool fibe
Elias’s heart hammered in his chest as Vane’s eyes bore into him, the study suddenly feeling too small, too confined. The winter sun filtered through the frost-laced windows, casting long shadows across the oak-paneled walls, but it did nothing to warm the chill that had settled in Elias’s bones. Va
The air in the house felt thick, like it always did after one of those family dinners that dragged on too long, tonight was heavier. Cyrus was burning. He’d been pacing in his room for what felt like forever, phone gripped so tight the edges left red lines in his palm. The last text he’d sent Elia
Elias didn’t leave his room for the rest of the day.He showered three times, scrubbing until his skin was raw, but the sticky shame clung to him like smoke. Every time he closed his eyes he saw Cyrus’s smirk across the dinner table, felt the phantom slide of that hand beneath the cloth. Worse—he f