The walk home was quiet, too quiet for my liking. Every step echoed with the weight of everything that had happened. The Codex thrown out. Victor walking freely. Madam Vale and Henry Everhart untouchable.By the time I got back to my place, my shoulders felt like stone. I kicked off my boots and dropped onto the bed, not bothering to turn on the light. The ceiling stared back blankly as I lay there, hands behind my head, my body still and mind racing.Alex.My chest tightened at the thought of him—his laugh, the way he used to challenge me at the range, his stupid jokes. And Daniel… another soul taken too soon. People I cared about, gone. Because of this city. Because of them.I shut my eyes, jaw clenched.I couldn’t let it end like this. Their lives couldn’t be just another page in the growing pile of tragedies swept under the rug of North City’s rot. No. I wasn’t going to sit here and do nothing.I needed air.The clock blinked past midnight, but I didn’t care. I threw on a hoodie,

“But you know this is not right,” Amanda said, brushing her stepfather’s hand away from her waist.But the old man walked a little closer to her, drawing her in with a swift, practiced motion until his nose brushed her hair, “but nothing has ever been right in this world, Amanda,” her stepfather said, taking a deep breath, lingering as he inhaled the scent of her hair.Feeling the closeness between herself and her stepfather, Amanda couldn’t bring herself to stop the emotions rising inside her.Amanda knew this was not right, yet she couldn’t suppress the arousal triggered by his touch.Thunder roared violently across the sky as the clouds suddenly lit white.Startled, I threw the book I had been reading aside. I caught my breath as I quickly locked the window of my loft studio. Outside, people moved with restrained urgency. I was too engulfed by the book I was reading and was not aware of my surroundings. The rain must have started a few minutes ago.Moving back to the table to conti

He got scared when he saw the bruises on his face from the punches. That's when he ran outside, dashing out of the house into the rain. As he stumbled out into the rain-soaked night, the bruises on his face throbbed with every beat of his heart. Panic set in, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he sprinted away from the house. The fog swirled around him, shrouding everything in a damp, grey mist. He couldn't see more than a few feet ahead, but he knew they were closing in.The sound of footsteps echoed through the fog, growing louder with every step. He pushed himself to run faster, his feet pounding the wet pavement in a desperate bid for freedom. But it was too late. A car burst out of the fog, its headlights blazing like a predator's eyes. He tried to dodge, but the car struck him with a sickening crunch, sending him flying through the air.Gideon's body crumpled to the ground, his limbs splayed at awkward angles, as the car's impact sent him flying through the air. The sound of s

The next morning, Gideon was surprised to see two women enter the room with his suit. They greeted him, and he replied, causing the maids to look at each other in surprise."Good morning, sir," one of them said, still looking astonished. "We're here to dress you up."Gideon walked towards them to collect the clothes, but just as he reached out, the maids took one to three steps backward, counting out loud. Gideon was taken aback. "What are you doing?" he asked.The maid replied, "You told us to always keep a distance of one to three steps from you, sir."Just then, Miss Evelyn entered the room. "Leave us, please," she said to the maids. They quickly departed, leaving Miss Evelyn to collect the clothes.As she helped Gideon into the suit, she explained, "Axel was a distant person, Gideon. He never allowed anyone close to him. One of his rules was to never greet or reply to people's greetings. He liked to keep ahead of everyone."Gideon frowned. "That's a bad attitude. I'm not like that