LOGIN"Lyra." her father's voice came from behind her, and she turned to see her father emerging from the guest room. His expression was tired, worn down by the weight of everything that had happened. "Go to bed. We'll talk tomorrow. All of us. Together.""But Dad, Mom won't even look at me. I need to explain...""Tomorrow," Victor said firmly, but not unkindly. He put a hand on her shoulder and gently turned her away from Isabella's door. "Tomorrow, Lyra. Right now, your mother needs rest. We all do."He guided her down the hallway toward her room, and Lyra didn't fight him. There was no point in fighting. There was no point in anything anymore.***The room felt smaller than it had before.Lyra closed the door and leaned against it, her breathing shallow. She moved to her bed and sat down, staring at nothing, her mind completely blank.Her phone was on the nightstand, still silent from earlier when she'd turned off the ringer. She picked it up slowly and unlocked it.There was a text mess
Damien met his father's gaze steadily."She's not my biological sister," he said again, his voice hard. "I don't see the problem."Isabella made a sound that was somewhere between a sob and a scream."Listen to yourself!" she cried out, her entire body shaking. "Can you listen to yourself? Do you hear how insane you sound?"She tried to sit up, and Victor had to help her, concerned that the emotion was going to trigger another medical crisis."I raised her!" Isabella continued, her voice hoarse from crying. "I raised her for twenty-two years as your sister! So whether you like it or not, she IS your sister, Damien. And what you're doing to her is pure selfishness. You could have had anyone. Anyone in this world. But instead, you chose your own sister because you're so obsessed with control that you can't even see what you're doing to her!"Her voice had risen to a shout, and Damien saw tears streaming down her face, saw the way her whole body was shaking with the force of her emotion.
He picked up his phone and stared at it for a moment. Then he dialed a number he knew by heart.His father picked up on the second ring."Damien," his father said, and there was something wary in his tone. Caution. Distance."Father," Damien replied. "I wanted to inform you that I'll be visiting the hospital tomorrow to speak with you and Mother regarding the situation with Lyra."There was a pause."Your mother isn't being discharged until tomorrow evening," Victor said carefully."I'm aware. I'll come in the afternoon. We can talk then.""Damien...""I'll see you tomorrow," Damien said, cutting off whatever his father was about to say. "Let Mother know I'm coming."He ended the call before his father could respond.Then he sat back in his chair and stared out the window at the Manhattan skyline stretched out before him. The city was a living thing, full of movement and energy and people living their lives without knowing what was happening in the lives around them.Lyra was at the e
The front door closed behind Lyra with a soft click.She stood in the entrance of the estate, her hands still trembling from the drive back from the hospital. The hallway was quiet, the afternoon light filtering through the high windows casting long shadows across the polished marble floors.Mariana appeared almost immediately, as if she'd been waiting."Welcome home, Miss Lyra," she said gently. "Should I prepare your meal? You must be hungry."Lyra looked at the older woman, at the concern in her eyes, and felt something crack inside her chest again."No, thank you, Mariana," she said quietly. "I don't need anything. I just want to rest.""But Miss Lyra you haven't eaten anything since yesterday""I'm fine," Lyra said, and she knew her voice sounded hollow. "Really. I just need to sleep."Without waiting for another response, she made her way up the grand staircase to her room. Each step felt like it took an eternity. Her legs were heavy. Her entire body was heavy, weighed down by t
Instead, she watched as the phone rang. Once. Twice. Three times.And then it stopped.The silence that followed was deafening.Lyra set the phone down on her chest, her breathing shallow, her mind spinning.The phone rang again thirty minutes later.This time, Lyra picked up immediately."Hello, Mom," she said, her voice small."Lyra." Isabella's voice was tired, weak from the hospital. "Didn't you want to pick up my call earlier?"Lyra's stomach twisted. She could lie. She should lie."I wasn't with my phone when you called," she said quietly. "I'm sorry."There was a pause on the other end. Lyra wasn't sure if Isabella believed her or not."I need you to come to the hospital tomorrow," Isabella said finally. "We need to talk. Both of us.""Okay, Mom," Lyra said."Okay?""Yes. I'll be there tomorrow."Another pause. Then: "Goodbye, Lyra."The line went dead.***The hospital hallway felt longer than it had before.Lyra walked toward her mother's hospital room the next morning, her h
The moment the door closed, Isabella broke.The sobs came from somewhere deep inside her, wracking her entire body. Victor pulled her close, letting her cry against his chest, his hand stroking her hair."What are we going to do about them, Victor?" she cried into his shirt. "What are we going to do? Should we tear them apart? Can we even do that?"Victor was silent for a long moment, his jaw clenched as he stared at the blank hospital wall over his wife's head."Do you think Damien will allow that?" he said finally, his voice low. "Your son is so stubborn, Isabella. He's always been stubborn. You know this.""But they're siblings," Isabella said, pulling back to look at him, her face blotchy and streaked with tears. "Victor, they're siblings. What should we do? They shouldn't be doing this at all."Victor pulled her back against his chest, resting his chin on her head. He didn't have an answer. Not yet."We'll figure it out when you're discharged," he said quietly. "For now, you need
Lyra set her phone down with shaking hands and stood up.Her legs felt weak, her body hypersensitive. Every movement of fabric against her skin made her gasp.She walked to the full-length mirror in her room and looked at herself.Her hair was disheveled from the flight and the stress. Her face was
Lyra stared at her phone screen, her heart still racing from the encounter in the hallway.DarkVeil: Welcome home, little one. Did you miss me?Her fingers trembled as she typed back.LyraNight: How did you know I got to New York? I didn't tell you I was flying home.The three dots appeared immedia
"The Mercers. They were good people. Are good people." Karla's eyes filled with fresh tears. "They passed away six months ago. Car accident. That's when I did the DNA test. I had no one left and I just... I needed to know if there was anyone out there who shared my blood."Isabelle made a soft soun
LYRA POV:The plane touched down at JFK with a jolt that matched the anxiety thrumming through Lyra's veins.She'd barely slept during the flight, her mind spinning with questions her mother refused to answer over the phone. Urgent. Family matter. Need you home. The words had echoed through her hea







