INICIAR SESIÓNNobody moved.Nathan's phone continued ringing on the table.Eva stared at the name displayed on the screen.ELIAS REED.Her father looked as though he had just seen a ghost."Dad?" she whispered.Nathan reached for the phone, but Adrian caught his wrist."Wait."Nathan looked at him."I need to answer this.""Why?" Adrian asked. "What does Elias want from you?"Nathan's gaze shifted toward Eva."Because I've been waiting for this call for years."The words sent a chill through the room.Eva stepped closer."What aren't you telling me?"Nathan looked down at the phone.Then, before anyone could stop him, he answered and placed it on speaker."Hello, Elias."A soft laugh came through the line."Nathan. I was beginning to wonder whether you would answer.""You've had years to speak to me. Why now?""Because you have finally stopped hiding behind the lies you told yourself."Nathan's jaw tightened."I never hid from what I did.""No?" Elias replied. "Then tell Eva why your name is on the
For the first time in months, Eva woke up in Adrian's arms without immediately wondering what disaster awaited her.Sunlight slipped through the curtains, warming the room. Adrian's arm rested securely around her waist, and his breathing was slow and even.She turned carefully to look at him.It still surprised her sometimes.This man, who had once treated their marriage like an obligation, now held her as though waking up beside her was the best part of his day.Eva smiled and brushed a strand of hair away from his forehead.Adrian's eyes opened."Are you watching me sleep?""Maybe.""Should I be concerned?""Very."He pulled her closer, his lips curving into a sleepy smile."Good morning to you too, Mrs. Blackwood."She laughed softly."Good morning."He kissed her forehead, then her cheek."How are you feeling?""Better.""Really?"Eva considered the question.She was still hurt by the secrets her family had kept. She still wanted answers about the years she'd lost with her mother
Eva stared at the message.NOW TELL EVA WHAT HAPPENED THE NIGHT YOU CHOSE TO KEEP HER.The words seemed to grow darker the longer she looked at them.Slowly, she raised her eyes toward Nathan."Dad?"He didn't answer immediately.Her mother sat motionless on the sofa, her hands clasped so tightly that her knuckles had turned white.Adrian moved closer to Eva, but he didn't interrupt."What's the message talking about?" Eva asked.Nathan lowered his phone."I think it's time you heard everything."Eva's stomach tightened."Then tell me."Nathan looked at her mother before turning back to Eva."The night you were born, Gabriel discovered that people connected to the Circle had obtained information about your family. They knew about your mother, your twin sister, and the circumstances surrounding your birth."Eva frowned."My twin?""Amelia was born first. You followed shortly afterward. The two of you were separated before you were old enough to know one another.""I know that part.""B
Eva had always imagined that the end of the Circle would feel like victory.She had pictured herself standing beside Adrian, watching the last pieces of the organization crumble, finally free from the secrets that had followed her throughout her life.Instead, she stood in the Blackwood Tower's sitting room, staring at a laptop displaying the name of a man who had stolen years of peace from her family.ELIAS REED — STATUS: UNCONFIRMED.The archive was gone. Nathaniel had survived. Her mother was alive.Yet the danger had not completely disappeared."Can we trace the last communication?" Adrian asked Daniel.Daniel shook his head. "Not directly. The message was routed through several private servers before it reached the drive. Whoever sent it knew how to cover their tracks.""Could it have been Elias himself?" Alexander asked."Possibly. But there's another problem." Daniel turned the laptop toward them. "The personnel list includes people who worked with the Circle for years. Some ar
The countdown continued.00:02:41.Eva stared at the numbers on the screen, her heart pounding so violently that she could barely hear the machinery surrounding them.Across the chamber, Nathaniel stood trapped on a narrow platform. His wrists were secured to the metal railings, and a thin line of blood ran from his temple.Adrian stood beside Eva, one hand wrapped around hers.Alexander was on her other side.None of them had moved since Elias Reed delivered his ultimatum.One person had to be sacrificed.Eva looked at the screen displaying Elias's face."You're asking us to do something you would never do yourself."Elias's expression remained calm."You don't know what I would do.""I know exactly what you would do. You would find a way to survive and call it necessary."Something flickered in his eyes."Survival is not a crime.""No. But destroying people's lives to guarantee your own survival is."Adrian squeezed Eva's hand."Elias, the archive is already collapsing. Whatever con
The moment Eva stepped out of the archive, she knew something was wrong.The corridor was too quiet.Daniel was already checking his phone.“Still nothing.”Eva's heart tightened.“Nathaniel?”Daniel shook his head.“I can't reach him.”Adrian looked toward the elevator.“We're going to St. Mary's.”Nathan stepped forward.“I'll come.”Eva looked at him.“Dad, you don't have to.”“Yes, I do.”His voice was firm.“If Nathaniel is involved, I'm coming.”Alexander joined them.“So am I.”Adrian nodded.“Then we go together.”They hurried toward the elevator.But before the doors closed, Eva glanced back.Her grandfather was still standing inside the archive.He hadn't followed them.Neither had Thomas.Eva frowned.“Why aren't they coming?”Adrian looked back.“Because they know something we don't.”The elevator doors closed.---The drive to St. Mary's felt endless.Eva sat beside Adrian in the back seat.Her hands were cold.He noticed.Without saying anything, he took one of them.She







