ANMELDENElara’s POVThe word did not sound loud, it did not echo through the room, and it did not carry force, but it broke something inside me all the same. The child’s voice came through the screen, soft and uncertain, yet unmistakably directed at me. The entire room went silent; no one moved and no one spoke.I could not breathe.My body felt frozen in place while my mind struggled to catch up with what I had just heard. “That is not real,” I whispered, but the words felt empty.Ruin stood beside me, completely still. His presence was steady, but I could feel the tension radiating from him. The child shifted slightly on the chair, small hands bound and eyes wide.“Mom…” the child said again, this time with more urgency.My chest tightened painfully. I took a step forward without realizing it, and the screen felt like it was pulling me closer. “That is not possible,” I said again, but my voice trembled.Ruin’s hand closed around my wrist gently but firmly. “Elara.”I did not look at him. “T
Elara’s POVThe room felt too small for the truth we were standing in. I could not take my eyes off the photo on the screen because the child’s face was clear now. There was no shadow to hide behind and no distance to blur the details. The resemblance hit me like a physical blow because those eyes look like my eyes.My throat tightened until it hurt to swallow. “This is not possible,” I said, but my voice sounded hollow.Ruin stood beside me, completely still. His silence felt heavier than anything he could have said.“It is not possible,” I repeated, more firmly this time, as if saying it enough would make it true.Ruin finally spoke. “It is possible.”I turned toward him sharply. “No.”“Elara—”“No,” I said again, shaking my head.“This does not make sense.”“Nothing about this situation makes sense.”“That does not mean we accept everything we see.”Ruin’s jaw tightened. “We do not have the luxury of denial.”“This is not denial.”“This is reality.”I pointed at the screen. “That c
Elara’s POVThe image of a small child stayed burned into my mind long after the screen went black. The child was tied to a chair.My chest tightened until it hurt to breathe. “No,” I whispered.Ruin did not move. He stood frozen beside me, the tablet still in his hand, his grip tightening slowly as if he were trying not to crush it.“That was not real,” I said, although I already knew I was lying to myself.Ruin’s voice came out low and controlled. “It was real.”My stomach twisted. “No, it cannot be.”Ruin answered immediately, “It is exactly the kind of move he would make.”“That does not mean it is real,” I replied.Ruin finally set the tablet down. The movement was deliberate and too careful. “He wants you to believe it is real,” he said.I shook my head. “I already do.”“That is what he is counting on.”I turned toward him. “If that is a child in that room...”Ruin cut me off before I could finish, “It is a leverage point.”“It is a human being.”“I know that.”“Then stop talkin
Elara’s POVI could not breathe. The screen in Ruin’s hand felt like it held the power to rewrite my entire life; my mother’s face stared back at me. My knees weakened, and I reached for the edge of the table to steady myself.“This is not real,” I said, although my voice lacked conviction.Ruin did not speak. Axel remained silent by the door; the room felt smaller with every second.“It cannot be real,” I repeated.Ruin finally moved. He set the tablet down carefully on the table, as if it were both fragile and dangerous.“Elara,” he said quietly.I shook my head. “No.”I stepped closer to the screen again, but the video continued to play on a loop. My mother lifted her head slowly; her eyes looked tired, but they were the same eyes I remembered, the same expression, and the same presence.“No,” I whispered again. “She is dead.” That was what they told me, but what is really happening?Ruin’s voice stayed calm. “That is what you were told.”“I saw the reports.”“Reports can be altere
Elara’s POVThe door closed behind Axel, and the silence that followed felt heavier than the chaos we had just escaped. Ruin stood in the middle of the room, unmoving because the words Axel left behind lingered in the air.Viktor has the file.I felt the weight of that truth settle slowly into my chest. It did not hit all at once; it spread, quietly and relentlessly, like something sinking deeper with every second.Ruin exhaled slowly. “He should not have it.”I did not answer.Ruin ran a hand through his hair again. “We should have secured that file the moment we found Sergei.”“We did not know it existed,” I said quietly.“That does not matter.” He replied.“It does,” I said.Ruin turned toward me. “No, it does not.”His voice held frustration now. “Everything tonight points back to that file.”“And we did not have it.”“That is exactly the problem.”I stepped closer. “We were trying to stay alive.”“We should have been thinking ahead.”“We were thinking ahead.”Ruin shook his head.
Elara’s POVThe safe house stood at the edge of the city, hidden behind a line of abandoned warehouses that looked forgotten by time. Axel drove through the gate without slowing down; the guards recognized the car immediately and opened the entrance without question.The moment the gates closed behind us, the noise of the city faded. The silence felt unreal after everything we had just survived.Axel parked the car near the building. “Inside,” he said.Ruin opened the door for me again. This time, his movements were slower and more careful. I stepped out of the car and followed him inside without speaking. The safe house felt dimly lit and quiet; several men stood in the hallway, but they kept their distance when Ruin walked past. Everyone could see the blood on his clothes, and everyone could feel the tension in the air.Axel dragged Sergei down another corridor without saying a word. The sound of a heavy door closing echoed behind him. Ruin stopped walking, and he turned toward me.
Elara’s POVThe morning began too quietly, and I had already learned that silence inside Ruin’s world usually meant danger was waiting to breathe.Sunlight filtered through the tall windows of the penthouse dining room, painting the marble floor with soft gold. I sat at the long table alone, starin
Elara’s POVThe room fell silent after the doctor’s accusation.Every member of the club stood frozen, watching Ruin with guarded expressions. The tension felt thick enough to choke on. I stood beside him, my pulse hammering against my ribs.“Explain,” Ghost said.Ruin did not move immediately. He
Elara’s POVThe clubhouse felt different after the chaos of the last few days. The walls still held the same rough wood panels scarred by time and violence, and the scent of engine oil and leather still lingered in the air, but something quieter existed beneath it all. The tension had not disappear
Elara’s POVThe beeping sound cut through the room like a blade.Everything happened at once.Ruin grabbed my arm and pulled me down behind a heavy wooden table just as people began shouting. Chairs fell, glass shattered and Mafia guards rushed toward Jace while others ran for cover.“Stay down,” R







