Chapter 97: Ashes of the Throne.Linda’s POVThe cell was smaller than I remembered. Not just physically—it felt suffocating in ways I hadn’t expected. The cold metal bars that hemmed me in seemed to shrink the space around me until I could almost feel the weight of every crushed dream, every lost plan pressing down.I traced the rough, chipped concrete floor with my eyes. This place was a tomb for everything I’d been and everything I’d hoped to be.They had taken everything.The Vagaz brothers—my brothers—were locked away like common criminals. The empire we built on fear, on loyalty bought and blood spilled, was shattered. Mia stood victorious, no longer a girl fueled by vengeance but a leader commanding an entire clan with iron resolve.And me? I was a prisoner of the ruins I once ruled.I pressed my hands against the bars and closed my eyes, willing myself not to fall apart. Rage boiled beneath my skin—hot and electric—but it was tangled now with something else. Something I never
Chapter 96: Shatter the Spine.Mia's POVThe night air was like a blade against my skin. Cold. Sharp. Final. As our convoy pulled up near the southern cliffs, I could feel the quiet anticipation in my chest coiling tighter with every second. I stared at the bunker carved into the hillside, invisible to anyone who didn’t know it existed. But I knew. I always knew. The folder I’d carried like a relic hadn’t just contained supply routes or logistics—it held their final secrets. Their final sanctuary. Their end.Reyes was already moving, low and silent, his hand lifting into a signal. Everyone broke formation without a word. We’d done this enough times to read each other in the dark.I stayed close to Dylan, eyes flicking between the terrain and the live drone feed in his hands. He was calm—focused—but I could tell he kept glancing at me. I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t. I was too far gone in the silence before the storm.“Two guards at the northwest loading dock,” he murmured. “Four mo
Chapter 95: Ashes and Blood 2. Dylan’s POV.The roar of the flames echoed through the night, but Mia was unshaken. She sat there, her eyes hard, locked on the road ahead. I could feel her rage, hear it in the way she slammed the car into gear, her grip tight on the folder, as if it were the only thing anchoring her to the present. Every detail in the aftermath seemed to blur into a haze for me, except her. She was the focus.The Vagaz compound had gone up in flames, but it wasn’t enough for her. It would never be enough. She was never done—never going to be done—until every last trace of the people who’d hurt Victor, Mimi, and herself had been eradicated.I could feel the sharp sting of the decision I’d made as we drove away. I had to give it up. I’d spent years hunting her down, seeking revenge hoping to use her as bait for her father murdering mine but tonight—today—something shifted in me. Watching Mia, watching her walk through that compound with that icy calmness, that deadly pr
Chapter 94: Ashes and Blood.Mia's POV.The cars were parked deep in the woods, hidden under branches and thick leaves. No headlights. No noise. Just cold night air and the silent promise of revenge.We moved fast, black-clad shadows gliding through trees and tall fences. I raised my fist. And they all stopped. The Vagaz twins’ compound stood ahead—ugly, concrete, and crawling with guards.“They won’t see us coming,” Dylan said through the comm. “Breach in five.”I clenched my fists. This was for Victor and for Mimi. For every life torn apart by Billy and Forrest Vagaz and Linda fucking Cruz.Three….Two….One. And then… Boom—The blast split the silence open like a scream. Fire bloomed in the distance—orange, violent. The compound shook as Gamma Team cleared the east with ruthless efficiency. Vagaz soldiers poured out like ants, disoriented and scrambling. Just how we planned it.But all I could think about was Victor and Mimi. Their voices. Their quiet smile. The way they normally to
Chapter 93: The Sound of MetalMia’s POVThe smell of smoke still clung to the curtains. No matter how many windows I opened, it lingered—like Mimi’s absence had etched itself into the fibers of everything she touched.Her laughter wasn’t here anymore.Her humming, her heavy steps in the hallway, the way she always called me “Mimi’s big sis” even though we were the same age. Gone. What remained was a sterile emptiness, made worse by the quiet. Too quiet. Like the world was waiting for something to break.I sat in her room for hours after they confirmed it—bones charred beyond recognition, teeth barely enough to match. Dylan said nothing when he brought me the necklace. Burnt metal, chain snapped. It used to hold our names. Mine was still legible. Hers was melted into a smear.He didn’t cry. I didn’t either.Not then.Not even when they told me the Vagaz clan didn’t leave anything behind. Not a finger. Not a picture. Just ash. Just heat. Just this dull echo in my chest like someone was
Chapter 92: Under the Kitchen LightDylan’s POVThe house was still.Most of the others had retreated to their rooms or scattered across the estate after the exhausting day. I stayed back, alone in the dining room, nursing a glass of water I hadn’t touched in over twenty minutes. The silence was thick—too thick to ignore—but I welcomed it. Silence never lied.The creak of the kitchen door broke that peace.I didn’t have to look up to know who it was. I recognized the sound of her steps, measured and patient, and the faint rustling of the sweater she always wore when she needed answers. Sarah.I set the glass down and looked at her. She stood by the doorway, her gaze steady, unreadable.“We need to talk,” she said, her voice low but not harsh.I nodded once, silently rising to follow her into the kitchen. The overhead light flickered once before settling into a pale yellow glow that cast long shadows across the counter. She walked to the far end and leaned against the sink, arms crosse