The voss inheritance

The car was a silent, black shadow. It moved through the rain toward the hills. Lydia sat in the back seat. She pressed her forehead against the cool glass. The neon lights of the Lower District faded away. They were replaced by thick trees and tall iron fences. Silas drove with mechanical precision. He did not speak. He did not look at her through the mirror.Lydia felt a hollow ache in her chest. She thought of June. They were supposed to grab cheap noodles tonight. June would be waiting at their spot. She would check her phone. She would get angry. Then she would get worried. Lydia wanted to scream, but she knew the glass was soundproof. She was being erased.The car stopped before a set of massive stone pillars. A gate hummed open. This was the Voss Estate. It did not look like a home. It looked like a fortress built to survive an apocalypse. The walls were grey stone. The windows were narrow and sharp."Get out," Silas said. He had opened her door.Lydia stepped onto the gravel.

June Miller did not like silence. In the Lower District, silence usually meant someone was holding their breath before a fight. She sat in the back of the neon-lit deli, tapping her fingernails against a chipped plastic table. Lydia was three hours late.Lydia was never late.June pulled out her phone. She sent a tenth text. If you’re ghosting me for that suit from the bar, I’m stealing your shoes. No reply. The "read" receipt didn't even trigger.The deli door creaked open. A man walked in. He didn't belong here. He wore a charcoal suit that cost more than the entire building. He was tall, broad-shouldered, and moved like a shadow.June felt the hair on her arms stand up. She reached into her messenger bag and gripped the handle of a heavy monkey wrench."We’re closed," the deli owner barked from the counter.The man didn't look at the owner. His eyes scanned the room and locked onto June. They were dark, empty eyes."June Miller," the man said. It wasn't a question."Who’s asking?"

The back door of the estate slammed open. The cold night air hit Lydia like a physical blow. Adrian did not stop. He kept his hand locked around hers, pulling her toward the dark line of trees that bordered the property. Behind them, the mansion was a hive of frantic lights. Searchlights began to sweep the lawn, cutting through the mist in long, hungry arcs."We can't take the car," Adrian said. His voice was jagged. "Silas will have the main road blocked before we even reach the gate."Lydia stumbled over a tree root. Her thin gown was soaked from the damp grass. "Where are we going? There is nothing out here but forest.""There is a service tunnel two miles east," Adrian replied. He stopped for a second to look at her. His eyes were back to grey, but they were wide with a fear she hadn't seen before. "Lydia, I need you to keep moving. No matter what you hear, do not stop.""I saw Silas in the alleyway," Lydia said, her voice trembling. "In my head. I saw what he did to June. Is she

The Voss Corporate Tower was a needle of glass and steel that pierced the smog of the city. Tonight, it glowed with a predatory gold. The elite of the city were arriving for the annual shareholders' gala, oblivious to the fact that the basement was a laboratory and the penthouse was a cage.Lydia stood in the back of a delivery van parked three blocks away. She wore a stolen catering uniform. The black fabric felt like a shroud. Her hair was tucked under a cap, and her skin was pale enough to look like she belonged in the shadows. June sat beside her, checking a small earpiece. June’s arm was still in a sling, but she had a silenced pistol tucked into her waistband."The case is in the system," June whispered. "He’s looping the security cameras on the service entrance. We have a four-minute window."Lydia looked at her hands. They were steady. The violet pulse in her veins had settled into a low hum. It felt like a companion now, a silent predator waiting for the signal to strike. "If

The drive to the Ancestral Estate took four hours. The rain had turned into a thick, clinging fog that swallowed the headlights of Case’s stolen van. Adrian sat in the back, his head resting against the metal wall. Every few miles, he would cough, and the sound was wet and heavy. Lydia sat beside him. She held his hand. His skin was no longer burning; it was becoming deathly cold."We are close," Adrian whispered. He looked at the dark trees passing by. "The lake is just over the next ridge."June was in the driver’s seat. She had wrapped her shoulder in heavy duct tape to keep it from moving. She looked in the rearview mirror, her eyes tired but sharp. "Case says the military is moving toward the Voss Tower in the city. Julian’s private militia is scattered, but the loyalists will be at the lake. We aren't going to be alone.""The lake lab isn't just a facility," Adrian said, turning to Lydia. "It’s a closed system. It draws thermal energy from the ground. My father built it as a tom