RACHELI sat back down slowly, like my legs no longer understood how to hold me.The metal chair felt icy under my skin.My hands wouldn’t stay still, my fingers dragged up to my mouth, nails digging into my lips, then biting at them without thinking.Not mine.Those words kept repeating circling ,sharpening until they felt like needles in my skull.I squeezed my eyes shut.No. No. There had to be a mistake.My mind clawed through memories, desperate to find an answer.Had I done something wrong? Had something happened during pregnancy?.No. No. I carried her. I held her. I raised her. She cried in my arms. She called me mother.I shook my head hard, breath shaky. “This is wrong,” I whispered to myself. “This is wrong. I didn’t do anything wrong.”But the more I tried to dig for an explanation, the more the panic grew, rising like a choking smoke in my chest.My thoughts scattered so fast I couldn’t hold onto one long enough to make sense.My eyes snapped open.The scientists were whi

SERAPHINE.The car skidded to a stop, the tires screeching against the asphalt.My chest hammered as I pushed the door open, jumping out into the sharp, cold air.Mary followed immediately behind me, her face hard, her hands gripping her weapon.One of the guards yanked Marco from the backseat.His wrists were still cuffed, but he moved with desperate speed, eyes wide with terror and urgency. “Where is he?” the guard demanded.Marco’s face contorted, his lips quivering. He pointed toward a tall, dilapidated apartment near the warehouse.“There… that’s where Ryan is,” he whispered.We moved fast, our footsteps silent on the asphalt.The Cassian security team was with us, all of them pressing close to the shadows, hugging walls and alleyways as if the slightest noise could ruin everything.My heart was in my throat.Every step felt like walking toward the edge of a cliff, every breath a countdown.We reached the apartment, crouched low behind the wall, and I froze.From above, on the ro

RYAN.Two weeks had passed since the kidnapping, but it still lived in my body like a shadow that refused to lift.The nightmares, the gunshot echoes, the cold room—none of it mattered now.Today wasn’t about me.Today was about Jasmine.Today was the day I took her back.We drove in silence, the three of us packed into one car, the engine humming low as we approached the outskirts of the industrial zone.The warehouse sat ahead, massive and silent, its metal walls reflecting the dull grey sky.Every instinct in me screamed danger, but I forced my breathing steady.I had to be calm. I had to be focused.I turned slightly, looking at Seraphine in the front seat.Her jaw was set, her expression firm, eyes fixed on the road ahead.“This might be dangerous,” I said quietly.She didn’t answer.Not a nod, not a glance. Just silence—the kind that told me she wasn’t backing out.I shifted my attention to Mary.She sat behind us, mask on, eyes cold and steady.She looked like she was preparing

RYAN The hum of the jet filled the cabin steady, low, almost soothing but my mind wasn’t calm.I sat across from Julian, watching the clouds slide past the windows like soft walls.He was relaxed, one leg crossed over the other, scrolling through something on his tabletMeanwhile, I kept staring at him, waiting for answers.“Who exactly are we going to see?” I finally asked.Julian didn’t look up immediately. He took a slow sip from the glass in his hand before answering. “Victoria.”I frowned. “Victoria?”“Yes, Mrs Elizabeth’s daughter,” he said simply.That hit harder than I expected. I shifted in my seat. “Why? Why would we go to see her? What does she have to do with anything?”Julian set his glass down. “Because she’s the one person her mother can’t break.”I looked at him, confused. “Explain. Because right now it sounds like trouble we don’t need.”He leaned back. “Mrs. Elizabeth killed her husband years ago. Victoria’s father. It happened right in front of her. She was a child

RYANThe moment Rachel sat down across from me, my pulse kicked hard against my ribs.She didn’t come empty-handed.She came with a gun.She placed it beside her thigh, angled directly at me, her fingers resting near the trigger like she wanted me to see she had control.Her eyes were sharp, red-rimmed, furious, trembling like a storm barely held together by spite.Behind me, Cassian security reacted instantly, weapons raised, ready to charge.“Put your guns down,” I said sharply.They hesitated.“Now.”Their rifles lowered, slowly, reluctantly.Julian stepped closer to me, tense. “Ryan, she is unstable. I’m not leaving you with her.”Rachel’s hand shot up, and she aimed the gun at him.“Move,” she snapped.Julian didn’t flinch, but his jaw tightened.“Julian,” I said quietly. “Go.”He didn’t move at first.His eyes searched mine, warning me without words.“Go,” I repeated.Rachel pressed the barrel harder in his direction. “He said leave!”Julian exhaled tightly and stepped back. “Tw