41 Vengeful Daughters

Riya's pov "Oh, don't fret… This is normal around here." Serena stepped back beside me and gave my shoulder a reassuring tap, giving me a slight nod. "You'll get used to it."I slowly lowered my hands from my mouth, while my eyes went wide as Momma helped the groaning girl to her feet. I then slid my gaze towards Serena, whispering out in a horrified voice to a hushed whisper. "What exactly about this is normal? That was... that's just domestic violence!"Serena, Momma, and the feisty girl all burst into laughter, making the sound echo in the stark concrete hallway."Sweetheart," Momma wiped a tear of mirth from her eye as she walked towards me, turning her expression serious. "If you wanna live towards revenge, you need to have the skills to accomplish it." She stopped in front of me, placing her hands on her hips. "Or how exactly did you plan on getting back at the old man? Do you wanna offer him hugs or something? Ask him nicely to stop?"I folded my arms defensively and slid my

Last Updated : 2025-12-04

42 Debts and Dressings

Mateo's Pov "What... are you trying to say?" I lowered my voicemail gently locking the car door, as the clunk echoed in the sterile quiet of the underground garage. And supporting the limping Silas over my shoulders, we began the slow, painful walk towards the private elevator. "I'm saying that I want to help you," Lance's smooth voice continued, "and in return, you will need to help me.""That's not the issue," I forced my mind to work through the fog of pain and adrenaline, then eased Silas to lean against the elevator wall as I pressed the button for the 19th floor. The doors slid shut with a whisper, sealing us in a mirrored, brightly lit box before I leaned my tired back against the cool metal wall, feeling the subtle gravitational tug as we began to ascend. I then rolled my eyes toward the harsh fluorescent lights on the ceiling. "Aren't you forgetting something... Sir Lance?"There was a deliberate pause on the other end. "What?" his tone remained pleasant, but a thread of

Last Updated : 2025-12-05

43 Binary and Bonding

Riya's PovWith everyone gone, the massive living space felt hollow followed by an industrial kind of silence, broken only by the low hum of server racks and the frantic, rhythmic click-clack of a keyboard. The air smelled of ozone, stale coffee, and the faint, sweet scent of Nova’s perfume—a stark contrast to the cold concrete and exposed ductwork as I hovered in the doorway, feeling out of place. Across the room, Nova's silhouette sat against the glow of multiple monitors, facing her back to me, with this posture of a perfect curve of concentration.“Where’s Momma?” Nova's voice sounded too small, swallowed by the space without turning, and her fingers never stopped dancing across the keyboard, forming the sound of a staccato ballet on mechanical switches.“Oh… um… She left with the others.” I took a tentative step inside, squeaking my sneakers softly on the polished concrete as I drifted closer, drawn to the constellation of screens. On the central monitor, a stream of cryptic s

Last Updated : 2025-12-08

44 Unlocked Sights

Riya's pov “No.” She tapped a monitor displaying a wireframe map of the surrounding area, and a single, blinking red dot pulsed at the edge of the property line. “Anyone who enters the perimeter of this space that isn’t holding the access card, or isn’t with someone who holds it, is tagged as an intruder. The system doesn’t make mistakes.” She finally turned to look at me, and the hard certainty in her eyes extinguished my last bit of hope. “And besides… It’s still too early for any of them to return. Way too early.”Now the sterile, safe space suddenly felt like a glass box in a shooting gallery. “So…” I blinked, darting my eyes to the dark, reinforced windows, then back to her as I clutched my hands tightly against my chest. “So… what do we do?”“We have to lock the whole place down.” She was already typing, executing commands, and before long, a series of heavy, mechanical clunks echoed through the building as external blast doors engaged.“But we don’t know who they are yet,” I

Last Updated : 2025-12-10

45 Guest Protocol

Riya's Pov“Do I let him in?”Nova’s flat voice cut through the dizzying static in my head, dragging me back from a whirlpool of memories.“Huh? Wha…?” I blinked twice, parting my lips, but no sound came out all because the grainy monitor image of him, squinting in the floodlights, had been seared onto the back of my eyelids.She stood upright, leaned the heavy sniper rifle gently against the iron-plated wall with a soft clink of metal on metal, then she turned to face me fully, crossing her arms. “Well? Do I let him in?”My eyes darted from her face to the monitor and back again while a nervous energy fizzed under my skin. “Well… my eyes darted side to side… Why are you asking me?”“Duh.” She placed a hand on her hip, tilting her head, arching a single, perfectly shaped eyebrow. “Didn’t you just call him ‘Mateo’?”Heat rushed to my cheeks. “Oh.” My voice lowered to a murmur. “You heard that?”“So?” She took a step closer, and the red strobe light flashed across her features. “Make up

Last Updated : 2025-12-11

46 The Keeper and the Claim

Riya's pov The air around the entrance corridor went from tense to brittle and the hum of hidden machinery seemed to grow louder.“Are you…” Mateo’s voice came out low, without hiding the edge beneath, and his tired but sharply focused eyes slid past me and locked onto Nova. “…holding her against her will?”Nova didn’t flinch. If anything, a spark of challenge lit in her cool gaze, and she leaned forward, just in a fraction. “And what if I am?”I felt my stomach drop. Oh, please, Nova, I screamed internally, clenching my teeth so hard my jaw ached. Don’t make things more difficult than they already are.I saw Mateo’s chest rise and fall with a deep, steadying breath as he returned his gaze towards me, before shifting his weight, preparing to step forward—into the space, forcing me to act on pure instinct.“Wait.” I shot my arm out, facing my palm flat toward him. He stopped, widening his eyes slightly in surprise and the sight of my own hand, trembling just a little, suspended in th

Last Updated : 2025-12-13