The morning after his conversation with Lana, Elias found himself standing outside Mara's apartment. The familiar coldness of the air only added to the tension he felt in his chest. His heart raced, each beat like a countdown to an inevitable confrontation, a moment he had been avoiding for years. He had faced everything but her—*until now.*He glanced down at his phone, checking the time for the hundredth time. It wasn’t that he was afraid of facing Mara, not in the way he had been before. But there was something more unsettling now, something heavier in the way she had manipulated him in the past. She wasn’t just a chapter from his life; she was the darkness that had followed him, lurking in the shadows of every decision he had made since.His hand hovered over the doorbell for a moment, uncertainty flickering in his eyes. The thought of her—her calculating eyes, her cold demeanor—chilled him to the bone. It had been years since he had let himself be manipulated, years since he had

Elias didn’t waste any time. As soon as he left the coffee shop, his mind was made up. The path ahead was clear, even if it led to more pain. He couldn’t let Grady’s betrayal slide—couldn’t let someone so close to him remain a shadow in his life. He needed answers, and he needed them now.He didn’t even bother with his car. He walked, his long strides eating up the city streets. The night air was colder than he expected, but it did little to slow him down. His phone buzzed in his pocket again—another message from Lana.*Be careful, Elias. He's unpredictable.*He didn’t have the time or the energy to reply. The words in her message felt distant, almost like they were meant for someone else. The only thing that mattered was finding Grady and getting the truth, no matter how much it hurt.---Grady’s apartment was only a few blocks away, tucked in a quieter part of the city. As Elias approached, he felt the knot in his stomach tighten. The idea that someone he had considered family had b

The day had dragged on longer than Elias could have anticipated. It wasn’t until the late evening that he found himself sitting at his desk, the weight of everything pressing on his shoulders. The conversation with Lana replayed in his mind over and over. Mara’s games, the people she had worked with, and now this Jace figure that had appeared from nowhere. Elias could feel the ground shifting beneath him.There were too many unknowns. Too many risks. And not enough time.His phone buzzed, interrupting his thoughts. The name on the screen—Lana—was enough to make him pick it up without hesitation.“Elias, you need to get over here,” Lana’s voice crackled through the line, urgent and strained. “It’s happening faster than we thought. I think Mara is making her move.”Elias sat up straight, his heart rate spiking. “What do you mean? What’s going on?”“I’ve been monitoring Mara’s movements,” Lana continued, her voice barely controlled. “I think she’s trying to cut you out of the picture com

The warehouse meeting had left Elias with more questions than answers. Even as he and Lana slipped into the night unnoticed, the words he’d overheard—“She’s the one pulling the strings”—echoed in his head like a curse. Mara’s influence stretched deeper than he’d imagined. She wasn’t just orchestrating his downfall; she was manipulating every move around him.By the time Elias and Lana reached his car, the cold air outside did little to cool the burning in his chest. He gripped the steering wheel hard, knuckles pale, his jaw clenched.Lana glanced at him from the passenger seat. “You shouldn’t have gone in there alone. If I hadn’t shown up—”“I had to see it for myself,” Elias cut in sharply. Then, realizing his tone, he exhaled, rubbing his temples. “I needed to know how bad it’s gotten.”“It’s worse than bad,” Lana replied quietly. “Victor’s working directly under Mara’s orders. That means every financial move, every contact—she’s controlling the flow. You were right to suspect a mol

The rain began before dawn—thin, cold, and relentless. It fell in sheets against the windows of Elias’s apartment, washing the city in a gray shimmer. He hadn’t slept. The envelope Selena had given him lay open on the table, its contents spread like fragments of truth he wasn’t ready to face.Every face in those photographs was familiar—his directors, his mentors, his allies. Each one had been feeding information to Dymora. Each one had a price.The betrayal was total.Lana paced behind him, still in her raincoat, restless energy radiating off her. “We can’t trust her,” she said, for the third time. “Selena’s manipulating you. You saw what she’s capable of.”Elias didn’t look up. “And yet, everything she showed me checks out.”“That doesn’t mean she’s on our side.”He finally turned, his voice low. “Maybe there aren’t sides anymore, Lana. Maybe it’s just survival.”The words hung heavy in the air.---An hour later, Elias walked into Sterling Kane Industries headquarters. The lobby wa