DANIEL It's been a whole week of staying hidden, communicating with the kids via chats; Rebel is still mad at me but that doesn't even matter anymore. I tried letting go but couldn't and now I have no intention of ever letting go anymore. It's time to end the silent treatment. I take off my clothes and make my way to the bathroom as I hear the water running, her back stiffens the moment I step in but I move in without the slightest hesitation all the same. I get into the tub behind her stark naked then I gather her beautiful hair curls and put them sideways before kissing her temple. "I know you're still mad, I am sorry, I will spend the rest of my life making up for everything but we must be on the same page now, there are too many lives at stake if we don't get it together". She scoffs "Doesn't mean I have to forgive you nor do I have to let you touch me at all". I laugh softly "True but we both know I'd do all those things all the same". I spin her around and make her f
REBEL As I walked home, the door shut behind me with a click, but the tension still stuck to my body like smoke. Daniel stood a couple of steps back, jaw clenched, shirt torn where a knife had nearly kissed his ribs. His eyes raked the hallway like he didn't think the quiet. I didn't either. "You okay?" he asked finally, voice low but with a hint of worry he was trying too damn hard to hide. "Are you?" I said, shedding my jacket. Blood, not my own, stained the sleeve. "You got hit." "Not deep." "Still hit." He didn't answer that. Michael and Mex sprinted past us through the foyer, their steps light but alert. Michael caught my eye and I nodded. He didn't grin, but his shoulders relaxed. Barely. The house remained still—too still. "Security system's been reset," Daniel growled, glancing at his phone. "Cameras caught a blur, but they scrambled the feed. Pros. Klaus is locking down the house." Of course they were. This wasn't a warning. This was a message. "We need
REBELMother has been trying to get me out for something close to a lifetime so here I am with my kids and her on a lunch date with so many guards dressed casually, it's ridiculous really but at least they stayed low key and blended with the crowd. Mother is after all a queen and Daniel despite my objections sent his men also but the kids need to socialise and breathe air it's been long we came out together last.The clinking of silver and soft hum of laughter filled the light dining room. The twins bracketed me, stuffing rice and grilled vegetables into their mouths, their cheeks puffed out like little squirrels. My mother sat opposite us, regal and poised, her plate still untouched a dramatic contrast to the chaos of crumbs surrounding my sons.Carly Rhodes. Crowned Queen of Cyndaria. Heiress. She wears power like a second skin, I am really my mother in this guise. And now, quite decidedly, my mother again. Since we returned, she had slipped into grandmother mode with a speed that w
MIA I knew entering that office I was in for a roasting. The whole hallway felt chillier than usual, as if the AC had been cranked to maximum through my body, or maybe that was just the cold bite of my own shame. My heels clicking on the shiny marble floor were like the tick of a countdown clock. His door was already open. Never a good sign. Boss only did that if he was too angry to be polite. "Get in. Now." I went in, shutting the door quietly behind me. He did not even look at me. Just filled his glass, swallowed it, then turned, his eyes burning with fire. The kind that torched bridges and people. "You had one job, Mia." I did not flinch. "I didn't order the hit." "Don't play smart. You organized it. You authorized the team. And now Daniel knows that we're after her. Do you have any idea what you've done?" I said nothing. "She was to be an asset. A target. Get someone to seduce her, manipulate her, have the inheritance in our pockets. Instead, you put a price on
LOUISA I wasn't sneaking. Or at least I was constantly reminding myself as I crept barefoot down Robert's penthouse east wing. He was gone on assignment, or whatever he had called it going out the door for hours wearing a snug black jacket with a gun tucked into the back of it and silence for a pal. I'd spent the entire evening staring at my reflection, wondering if I still looked like a junkie anymore, if eight years of existence had changed me in any way. I'd wandered into the corridor he'd warned me to avoid. The curiosity bothered me, louder than sense, hungrier than conscience. The red light over the locked door at the end of the hall always, tonight, was green. Maybe he had forgotten to switch it. Maybe I was supposed to find it. Maybe I wanted to be found. I entered the code. It beeped open. What I found inside was not what I expected. A small room. Not luxurious. Concrete walls, a large desk, some locked cabinets, and one chair. A wall of files, names and faces pinned l
ROBERT The silence was thicker than any gun I'd ever encountered. She'd looked at me as if I were the villain in her worst nightmare, not the man who'd saved her from hell eight years ago. Louisa—broken, bitter, hurt Louisa—was facing me like a shattered mirror, every piece reflecting the worst of me I never wanted to see. And I let her find it. I should've locked the door. I should've burned the files. I should've lied better. But I didn't. And now there was no space between us but truth. I caught the look in her eyes—red, wet, angry—inventorying mine for answers that I couldn't supply. My name hung on her lips like an oath, and I didn't take a step back when she spat it out. "Robert." One word, and I was coming apart. The name was an ick on her lips. "Why her?" Her voice shook. "Why Rebel?" I swallowed. There was no use lying. "I didn't mean to feel anything," I told her, softly. "She was a target. You were also a target." She laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "B
MIA The air was thick with tension the moment Louisa walked into the safehouse. Her hood was up, face shadowed by the dim flickering bulb overhead. I didn’t flinch. I’d been expecting her. "Took you long enough," I said, lounging on the worn sofa, a glass of whiskey in hand. She didn’t respond at first. She just stood there, assessing me with those sharp eyes of hers. Drug addict or not, there was something sharp and unyielding about Louisa when she was angry. And today, she was molten fury packed into a deceptively frail frame. "I know what Robert’s been hiding," she said. I raised an eyebrow. "Do tell." "He loves her. Rebel. He’s not doing this job anymore. He’s in too deep." I sipped my drink, savoring the confirmation. "And that bothers you because...?" She stepped forward, slowly pulling down her hood. Her eyes burned with resentment. "Because he saved me. Nursed me. Told me I mattered. But he’s always been looking past me... for her." Now this was interesting.
DANIEL The quiet at home was oppressive. Not the quiet that leads to peace, but heavy stillness that leads to a storm. The kids were upstairs in their rooms, Rebel in the study re-reading Michael's letter, and I was alone in the living room with a glass of whisky that had long since lost its heat. I couldn't help but think of the attack. We'd barely made it out of that alleyway alive. Rebel had arrived like a ghost—no pause, no terror. Watching her protect our children that way. I don't think I'll ever be able to get that image out of my head. And yet, it also brought to mind that the woman I loved was not a woman you pinned down. She was not a woman you traded as chips or buried in titles. She was fire—soft, reserved, but desperate to burn. And now I was responsible for containing that fire. From the world. From the Organization. From the ghost of her past. And from me. Klaus walked into the room, ending the silence. His shoulders were stiff, jaw clenched. I recognize
DANIEL The quiet at home was oppressive. Not the quiet that leads to peace, but heavy stillness that leads to a storm. The kids were upstairs in their rooms, Rebel in the study re-reading Michael's letter, and I was alone in the living room with a glass of whisky that had long since lost its heat. I couldn't help but think of the attack. We'd barely made it out of that alleyway alive. Rebel had arrived like a ghost—no pause, no terror. Watching her protect our children that way. I don't think I'll ever be able to get that image out of my head. And yet, it also brought to mind that the woman I loved was not a woman you pinned down. She was not a woman you traded as chips or buried in titles. She was fire—soft, reserved, but desperate to burn. And now I was responsible for containing that fire. From the world. From the Organization. From the ghost of her past. And from me. Klaus walked into the room, ending the silence. His shoulders were stiff, jaw clenched. I recognize
MIA The air was thick with tension the moment Louisa walked into the safehouse. Her hood was up, face shadowed by the dim flickering bulb overhead. I didn’t flinch. I’d been expecting her. "Took you long enough," I said, lounging on the worn sofa, a glass of whiskey in hand. She didn’t respond at first. She just stood there, assessing me with those sharp eyes of hers. Drug addict or not, there was something sharp and unyielding about Louisa when she was angry. And today, she was molten fury packed into a deceptively frail frame. "I know what Robert’s been hiding," she said. I raised an eyebrow. "Do tell." "He loves her. Rebel. He’s not doing this job anymore. He’s in too deep." I sipped my drink, savoring the confirmation. "And that bothers you because...?" She stepped forward, slowly pulling down her hood. Her eyes burned with resentment. "Because he saved me. Nursed me. Told me I mattered. But he’s always been looking past me... for her." Now this was interesting.
ROBERT The silence was thicker than any gun I'd ever encountered. She'd looked at me as if I were the villain in her worst nightmare, not the man who'd saved her from hell eight years ago. Louisa—broken, bitter, hurt Louisa—was facing me like a shattered mirror, every piece reflecting the worst of me I never wanted to see. And I let her find it. I should've locked the door. I should've burned the files. I should've lied better. But I didn't. And now there was no space between us but truth. I caught the look in her eyes—red, wet, angry—inventorying mine for answers that I couldn't supply. My name hung on her lips like an oath, and I didn't take a step back when she spat it out. "Robert." One word, and I was coming apart. The name was an ick on her lips. "Why her?" Her voice shook. "Why Rebel?" I swallowed. There was no use lying. "I didn't mean to feel anything," I told her, softly. "She was a target. You were also a target." She laughed, a cold, bitter sound. "B
LOUISA I wasn't sneaking. Or at least I was constantly reminding myself as I crept barefoot down Robert's penthouse east wing. He was gone on assignment, or whatever he had called it going out the door for hours wearing a snug black jacket with a gun tucked into the back of it and silence for a pal. I'd spent the entire evening staring at my reflection, wondering if I still looked like a junkie anymore, if eight years of existence had changed me in any way. I'd wandered into the corridor he'd warned me to avoid. The curiosity bothered me, louder than sense, hungrier than conscience. The red light over the locked door at the end of the hall always, tonight, was green. Maybe he had forgotten to switch it. Maybe I was supposed to find it. Maybe I wanted to be found. I entered the code. It beeped open. What I found inside was not what I expected. A small room. Not luxurious. Concrete walls, a large desk, some locked cabinets, and one chair. A wall of files, names and faces pinned l
MIA I knew entering that office I was in for a roasting. The whole hallway felt chillier than usual, as if the AC had been cranked to maximum through my body, or maybe that was just the cold bite of my own shame. My heels clicking on the shiny marble floor were like the tick of a countdown clock. His door was already open. Never a good sign. Boss only did that if he was too angry to be polite. "Get in. Now." I went in, shutting the door quietly behind me. He did not even look at me. Just filled his glass, swallowed it, then turned, his eyes burning with fire. The kind that torched bridges and people. "You had one job, Mia." I did not flinch. "I didn't order the hit." "Don't play smart. You organized it. You authorized the team. And now Daniel knows that we're after her. Do you have any idea what you've done?" I said nothing. "She was to be an asset. A target. Get someone to seduce her, manipulate her, have the inheritance in our pockets. Instead, you put a price on
REBELMother has been trying to get me out for something close to a lifetime so here I am with my kids and her on a lunch date with so many guards dressed casually, it's ridiculous really but at least they stayed low key and blended with the crowd. Mother is after all a queen and Daniel despite my objections sent his men also but the kids need to socialise and breathe air it's been long we came out together last.The clinking of silver and soft hum of laughter filled the light dining room. The twins bracketed me, stuffing rice and grilled vegetables into their mouths, their cheeks puffed out like little squirrels. My mother sat opposite us, regal and poised, her plate still untouched a dramatic contrast to the chaos of crumbs surrounding my sons.Carly Rhodes. Crowned Queen of Cyndaria. Heiress. She wears power like a second skin, I am really my mother in this guise. And now, quite decidedly, my mother again. Since we returned, she had slipped into grandmother mode with a speed that w
REBEL As I walked home, the door shut behind me with a click, but the tension still stuck to my body like smoke. Daniel stood a couple of steps back, jaw clenched, shirt torn where a knife had nearly kissed his ribs. His eyes raked the hallway like he didn't think the quiet. I didn't either. "You okay?" he asked finally, voice low but with a hint of worry he was trying too damn hard to hide. "Are you?" I said, shedding my jacket. Blood, not my own, stained the sleeve. "You got hit." "Not deep." "Still hit." He didn't answer that. Michael and Mex sprinted past us through the foyer, their steps light but alert. Michael caught my eye and I nodded. He didn't grin, but his shoulders relaxed. Barely. The house remained still—too still. "Security system's been reset," Daniel growled, glancing at his phone. "Cameras caught a blur, but they scrambled the feed. Pros. Klaus is locking down the house." Of course they were. This wasn't a warning. This was a message. "We need
DANIEL It's been a whole week of staying hidden, communicating with the kids via chats; Rebel is still mad at me but that doesn't even matter anymore. I tried letting go but couldn't and now I have no intention of ever letting go anymore. It's time to end the silent treatment. I take off my clothes and make my way to the bathroom as I hear the water running, her back stiffens the moment I step in but I move in without the slightest hesitation all the same. I get into the tub behind her stark naked then I gather her beautiful hair curls and put them sideways before kissing her temple. "I know you're still mad, I am sorry, I will spend the rest of my life making up for everything but we must be on the same page now, there are too many lives at stake if we don't get it together". She scoffs "Doesn't mean I have to forgive you nor do I have to let you touch me at all". I laugh softly "True but we both know I'd do all those things all the same". I spin her around and make her f
KENNEDY WILLIAMS The cigar smoke still lingered in the air hours after I'd had to stub the thing out. I sat behind the desk, fingers together, waiting. The door opened. Three of them entered, none of them willing to look me in the eye. That was answer enough before a word was spoken. "So," I said, voice as slick as the leather chair I rested in, "I gave you one simple assignment. One target. One bullet. And still, Daniel is alive." The kind of silence that tested a man's endurance. I reclined, the chair creaking gently under the shift of my weight. "You had him in your sights." My tone dropped lower, softer — so much more deadly if I had shouted. "And you missed." "We missed not," one of the more aggressive of them snarled, his eyes flicking aside to avoid a glinting thread on a broken window. "He was tipped. Someone warned him." I smiled again, though no warmth accompanied the curve of my lips. Teeth only. "You've had years to master that lesson: Daniel is intelligent but