Logan held the cube in his hands, its surface cool and metallic, etched with strange symbols and interlocking parts that shifted ever so slightly with pressure. His brows furrowed as he stared at it, the weight of old wounds pressing down on him.Felix stood across from him, watching his reaction carefully.“I don’t want anything from him,” Logan finally said, his voice heavy. “Not after what he did… or didn’t do, when my Mom died.”He tried handing the cube back, but Felix didn’t budge.“Yound Master,” Felix said quietly, “your father didn’t give up on you. This cube… it’s not just a relic. It’s from your mother. Something she left behind—intentionally. Your dad only kept it because she asked him to. He wanted to give it to you himself last Christmas. But you didn’t come.”Logan’s jaw tightened. He hadn’t gone home for a reason. That house—the memories—the lies. It wasn’t somewhere he ever wanted to return.He thought he was done with anything relating to his father. He remembered t

Helpless and afraid, Charlotte’s heart pounded like a war drum. The cold metal of the gun pressed against her temple made it terrifyingly clear that she didn’t have a choice.The street was eerily quiet, empty of movement, void of hope. She’d taken this back route dozens of times before. It was a quiet and peaceful shortcut home from Elysian Bloom, but today, it had turned into a trap.The moment she stepped out of the car, strong arms seized her. She screamed, pleaded, kicked. “Please! What do you want?! Somebody help me!”But no one came.This part of the road was tucked away from the bustle of the main city—a perfect place to disappear.“Shut up!” one of the men snapped, yanking her hair and pulling her toward one of their parked vehicles. Her heels scraped the pavement as she stumbled, trying to break free. Her shouts faded into silence as the car door slammed shut, and the engine roared to life.The SUV sped away, carrying her deeper into an unknown location.She clutched her

Charlotte cried and cried and cried.Her throat was raw, her body trembling from pain and exhaustion, but the tears wouldn’t stop. She wept not just for herself, but for the betrayal and the cruel hands that had turned against her. How could her own blood want her dead?But instead of being moved, her tormentors seemed to feed off her suffering.Harry watched with a cold smirk from the corner of the room, arms folded as though he were admiring a piece of art. Carter stood beside him, murmuring something to his cousin, all of them treating her agony like sport. Her sobs, her bruises, and the cuts on her face were all entertainment to them.“Weak,” Carter muttered. “Just like her mother.”Harry chuckled. “She’ll break. And when she does, Elysian Bloom is ours.”Charlotte raised her head slightly from the cold cement floor with blood smeared across her lip, and her vision blurred. But there was defiance behind her swollen eyes. Even now, she refused to let them win.Meanwhile, back h

Charlotte’s head pounded as she regained consciousness. Her limbs were sore, and her wrists burned where the ropes had chafed her skin raw. The room was dimly lit, damp, and smelled of mold and dust. Cold concrete pressed against her back as she blinked at the shadows hovering around her.The five men stood there, murmuring in low voices. One of them approached her and yanked her upright. Her blouse was torn, her skirt crumpled, and fear surged through her chest like a wildfire.“Please,” she rasped, her voice barely audible. “You don’t have to do this. I can pay you. I have money—just name the price.”The man sneered. “You think this is about money now?”“I’m a married woman,” she cried. “I have a family. My husband—he’ll come looking for me. Please, I beg you.”One of them chuckled coldly. “You should’ve been dead already. Consider this mercy.”Charlotte’s heart sank.One of the men stepped forward. “Let’s have good fun!”He grabbed her arm, but Charlotte jerked away, mustering eve

Logan crouched in the vehicle, eyes narrowing. How the hell did they know he was here?“They’ve been planning this,” Felix growled, returning fire. “They don’t care if they die. They’re trying to overwhelm us.”A second bullet grazed the side mirror. Another hit the back tire. The rogues were closing in fast.The scent of smoke and blood hovered in the air as Logan managed to get out of the car and ducked behind the burnt-out remains of a delivery van. Concrete splinters flew above him, pelted by a barrage of gunfire from the thugs encircling the abandoned warehouse at 47 Crosspine Hollow, a derelict part of the city that hadn't seen law enforcement in over a decade.Logan's jaw tightened as he glanced at the screen of his cracked burner phone. Over two dozen armed men, all bearing the serpent insignia of the Varnack Syndicate, had him cornered. He hadn’t expected this level of retaliation—not this soon, not here. He wiped the blood trailing from his brow and quickly sent a messa