Lyra POV I put the ring back on, but that didn't mean I was at peace. Not even close.By midday, the mansion had settled into its usual rhythm. Staff moved quietly through the halls, and security stood at their posts like statues. Everything ran like a machine: precise, efficient, and cold. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, I sat at the edge of the window seat in my room, knees pulled to my chest, watching the city below as if it held answers I hadn't yet thought to ask for.My mother was stable. Christopher had confirmed that through a brief, formal message delivered to my phone by someone I didn't ask for. Martin was being monitored, which I hated the sound of but accepted because the alternative was worse. And Alexander Dayn was somewhere in this same building, doing whatever powerful men did when the world wasn't looking.I tried not to think about him, but I failed.—-----------It was the smell that found me first.Rich, warm, and unmistakably coffee. It drifted under the d
Last Updated : 2026-05-06 Read more