The room went dead silent after Zora’s question.Kai and Abigail both froze, their expressions flatlined like someone had just thrown a demon baby into their laps and asked them to babysit.They stared at Zora then at each other then back at Zora.Like...did she seriously just ask that?Abigail’s lips twitched. “Did you… ask that the wrong way? Or did I just hit my head harder than I thought?”Kai’s eyes twitched. “Pretty sure she meant what she said.”Zora blinked once. “I did.”Abigail’s brow furrowed. “But… asking for someone’s blood... no matter how you ask it is still creepy especially if you ain't a medical practitioner. You don’t make it better by smiling about it.”Kai crossed his arms. “Yeah. You literally asked for her blood like you were ordering tea.”Zora grinned. “That was me being polite.”Both of them blinked again.Zora rolled her eyes, hands on her hips. “What? Did you expect me to throw you down, rip out a vein and slurp it straight? I figured asking nicely was the

Abigail stared hard into space as Zora’s words echoed all around her again and again, “You have to hand over your company to someone else.”For a moment, Abigail didn’t breathe or maybe couldn’t cause what the fuck did she just heard her say?!The silence was suffocating in the room, her fingers curled slightly into her lap, her mouth parted but no words came out. Her mind had stopped moving, frozen in a loop of disbelief.Hand over… her company?Her company?The very thing she had bled for, cried over, risen from the dirt to build?The legacy she’d nurtured when no one believed in her? The one thing that gave her power in a world that kept trying to take it away?Her chest tightened, the thought of handing it over made her stomach twist, made her palms sweat and worse, she had no one to give it to.No siblings.No trustworthy partners.Only one name surfaced in her mind and that was her aunt.A woman who had eyed the company for years, lurking behind fake smiles and shallow complim

After the call ended, Kai lowered the phone and stared at the dark screen for a long moment before tossing it onto the table with a dull thud.A heavy sigh escaped his lips, one of those sighs that carried more than fatigue, it carried the weight of decisions pressing down on him from all sides. He ran a hand slowly down his face, eyes narrowing as his thoughts circled. Ella’s warning wasn’t something he could shrug off.According to her, the Death Shadow weren’t just an annoyance, they were an inevitability. Once your name was on their list, it wasn’t erased until you were. Even if he killed a dozen assassins, they would only send stronger ones, deadlier ones, until the mission was complete. That was their way. That was their law.And it wasn’t his safety that gnawed at him most, it was Abigail’s. She was already a target by some jerks, tangled in his war because fate had decided to string them together. He could protect himself, yes, but could he guarantee her safety every single ti

After nearly twelve hours in the sky, ten if one ignored the security delays and turbulence, Kai stepped off the private plane and took his first breath of Calonian air in like forever. It still smelled weird, like, clean, cold and kinda fake.The airport lights reflected off the freshly waxed floor as the doors slid open to reveal the familiar sharp face of his grandfather, dressed in a sharp dark grey coat, flanked by men in black and a line of sleek black cars waiting outside. The old man was already stepping forward before Kai could say a word.“Kaidën,” the old man breathed, eyes burning with pride, “you’ve grown more dangerous than I expected.”Kai allowed the ghost of a smirk. “You still talk too much, old man.”The man laughed, deep and loud, before pulling him into a firm embrace. “I thought it will be ages before you come home again, brat.”“Didn’t plan on coming,” Kai muttered, pulling back. “But here we are.”The old man’s eyes darted behind him, pausing for a second as

Kai stood in front of the tall mirror, half-buttoned shirt hanging loose over his broad chest, the silk black fabric whispering against his skin as if it too was unsure about tonight.The room he was given was massive, maybe even too much. Golden moldings ran along the edges of the ceiling, an intricate chandelier hung like a small galaxy above, casting soft light on the obsidian floor tiles and velvet furnishings. His bed looked like it belonged in some royal suite, but instead of comfort, it made him restless.The walk-in closet was filled already, to give him many choices apart from Ella's. Someone, probably his grandfather, had made sure his entire wardrobe, upgraded to Calonian standards, awaited him like he had always belonged here. Tailored suits. Shoes that screamed old money. Cufflinks that could buy small countries. He could still hear Atlas’s smug voice in his head, “You’re not just wearing a suit, you’re wearing the weight of legacy. Dress like it.”Kai stared at his own r