The Dawson house felt different the next morning.Too quiet.Too tense.Too rehearsed.Lila noticed it the moment she walked in with a warm smile and a small bag of groceries.“Mom? Dad? I brought what you asked!”Her mother jumped slightly—like someone caught doing something wrong.“Oh—Lila! You’re early.”Lila frowned.Her mother never sounded… nervous around her.Her father emerged from the back room, smoothing his shirt.“Sweetheart. Good morning.”He hugged her, but the embrace was stiff—nothing like the man who used to squeeze her tight.Lila pulled back, confused.“You both okay?”“Of course!” her mother said too quickly.“Perfectly fine.”Lila’s instincts prickled.Something was off.Very off.She placed the groceries on the counter.“Did something happen? You’re both acting… strange.”Her parents shared a tiny look—one so quick it would’ve gone unnoticed by anyone else.But not Lila.She spent her whole life reading their moods.They didn’t know how to hide emotions from her.

Hale’s voice still echoed in Ethan’s ear when he and Lila rushed inside the safehouse.Riker was already waiting by the central table, a holo-screen projected in front of him.On it—The symbol Hale found.A black serpent twisted around a crown, burned into metal.Lila stared at it, confused.Ethan stared at it, expression unreadable.“It’s not Slate’s usual mark,” Ethan said quietly.Riker nodded. “Exactly. Slate’s soldiers use the serpent alone. This crown variation… it’s new.”“Not new,” Ethan corrected.“Revived.”Lila turned to him. “What do you mean?”Ethan didn’t answer immediately.He stepped closer to the projection, eyes narrowing, mind moving fast.Riker watched him carefully.“You recognize it,” he said.“Yes,” Ethan murmured.“And if Slate is using it now, then he’s escalating faster than I expected.”Lila repeated more firmly, “Ethan—what is it?”Ethan turned to her.“It’s the emblem of an old internal division. A covert strike cell known as Crown Serpents. They were Sla

The safehouse transformed in minutes.Lights dimmed.Screens lit up.Operatives moved with lethal precision.But the air—the air felt different.Tighter.Charged.Like the moment before lightning strikes.Lila stood beside Ethan as the tactical map flickered with updated signals. She hadn’t let go of his jacket until now—but as teams assembled, she forced her hands to steady.Her parents were out there.With Slate.And she had no idea why.Riker approached with two tablets tucked under his arm.“Decoy is prepped,” he said. “Just waiting for your final confirmation.”“Who is it?” Lila asked.Riker hesitated—just long enough to make her bristle.Before he could answer, footsteps approached.A woman stepped into the war room.Tall.Sharp-faced.Hair in a strict black braid.Eyes cool as winter steel.She looked…like Lila.Not identical.Not family-level similar.But close enough in silhouette, posture, and presence that it made Lila’s breath catch.Hale introduced her from the doorway.

The evening breeze was cool, yet a strange heaviness settled over Lila as she stepped out of the car in front of Ethan’s penthouse. He had insisted on picking her up from work even though he’d had a long day.She knew why—He didn’t say it, but he was worried.They hadn’t heard from her family since the last attempt to reach her. And Ethan didn’t trust their silence.As soon as she entered the penthouse, she felt the shift. Ethan was behind her, quiet, unreadable… but tense.“Something happened,” she said softly.Ethan locked the door, then turned to her. His eyes were sharp, cold—his business eyes. The ones he only used when things were serious.“I received information today,” he said. “And you need to hear it.”Lila’s heartbeat stumbled. “About what?”“About the man who’s been trying to get close to you.”Her blood ran cold.Ethan continued, voice controlled but tight.“He contacted your family again.”Lila steadied herself on the back of the sofa. Her family… of course they’d enter

Lila didn’t move.Didn’t breathe.The words kept replaying in her mind, each one like a strike to the chest:Your mother died because of me.Ethan didn’t step closer.He didn’t reach for her again.He just stood there—composed, controlled, but with a grief so sharp it seemed to hollow the room.Lila finally found her voice.“How long have you known?”Ethan inhaled slowly.“Since the night it happened.”Her throat tightened.“You’ve been lying to me.”“I was protecting you,” he said quietly.“That’s not protection,” she said, voice trembling. “That’s stealing the truth.”He swallowed.“She made me promise.”Lila froze.“…What?”Ethan looked at her, really looked at her, eyes dark as shadows.“Your mother’s last words were about you.”The world tilted for Lila.Her knees weakened, and she grabbed the edge of the sofa to steady herself.Ethan took a careful step forward—not touching her, just close enough that she could feel the pull of him.“She was caught in the crossfire meant for me,