“No. I’m not helping you get out of here if that’s what you’re trying to do,” Riley snapped, anger flashing through her fear.There was, after all, no one in New York who didn’t know who she was.The boy didn’t react.“It must be your first time here,” he said calmly, his eyes never leaving her jaw.Riley felt her stomach turn.She saw it.The way he swallowed slightly—like whatever disturbing thought he had about her jawbone, he had already played it out in his head.“I can help you out,” he said gently.A pause.“Or not. The one who’s about to get me out… is here.”And then—The lights went out.All of them.At once.Darkness swallowed the station.Riley’s heart slammed against her chest.Her instincts—her power—should have warned her.Something like this shouldn’t just… happen.But she had felt nothing.No signal.No danger.Nothing.Then—The cell door clicked open.A whisper brushed past her ear.“Coming or not?”He was beside her again.Riley tried to read him—tried to reach for

What made it even stranger was that Elliot actually had a supportive family. He stayed with the same woman from that night.They got married.And never had another child.“Well,” Lombard said, eyeing Finn critically, “if you want any chance at this, we need to fix that hair.”He pointed at it like it had personally offended him.Finn blinked and turned toward the mirror.“Really? My mom literally says I look cute.”“Exactly,” Lombard said flatly. “You don’t want to look cute.”Finn frowned. “So what do I want to look like?”“Like you have a life outside textbooks,” Lombard replied. “That hairstyle is not helping you.”Finn ran a hand through his hair, suddenly unsure.“…Okay. So what do we do?”“I don’t know,” Lombard said. “But find someone who actually knows what they’re doing. A proper stylist.”Finn glanced at Lombard’s hair.“What about yours? Who does it?”“I do.”Finn paused. “Of course you do.”“But don’t try to copy it,” Lombard added quickly. “That would be a disaster. You n

“Oh?” Lombard said, raising a brow slightly, his gaze shifting toward Finn. “So someone called you?”A pause.Then, casually—“You’re ratting me out already? We haven’t even started anything.”“No—no, that’s not—” Finn started, stumbling over his words.“Well,” Abigail cut in quickly, stepping forward, “if you’re going to start blaming this on him, then I don’t think you’re as righteous as you believe you are.”“He’s not a kid,” Lombard said calmly. “He’s supposed to—”“Can we talk?” Abigail cut in again. “Just for a minute. Privately.”She was already looking at Finn, giving him an apologetic look like this had already been decided.Finn got the message.His plans? Ruined. Completely.But instead of arguing, he turned away.“Oh—right,” he said, pretending suddenly. “I forgot something. I’ll just go get it.”And just like that—Damn. Maybe calling Abigail was going to be the biggest mistake he's ever made!Lombard watched him leave, unimpressed.Yeah.That right there was exactly why

She straightened slightly.“I actually have a few tips too. On how to make heads turn when you walk into a room.”Finn’s eyes lit up.Two people.Two.Both of them clearly knew how to get attention.And they were about to teach him?This was perfect.Absolutely perfect.…Except—A small part of him was starting to feel like this wasn’t going to stay about him for long.The way they were looking at each other?Yeah.This was starting to feel like something else entirely.Still—He wasn’t here to analyze emotions.He had a goal.Prom.And if he didn’t get this right, he was finished.He might not have experience with girls—But he wasn’t stupid.Something was definitely going on between those two.And if he didn’t move fast, he was going to get caught in the middle of whatever game they were playing.“We should probably go now,” Finn said quickly.“Yes,” Abigail added immediately, her tone sharp with purpose.But her focus?It wasn’t on Finn.It was on Lombard.Lombard just shrugged and

If a single pin had dropped in the Belmont estate at that moment, it would have echoed.The entire family had gathered in the large prayer room, their presence filling the space with a heavy, almost suffocating silence. At the center stood Ron, leading the prayer with calm authority.He looked young.Too young.It still unsettled some of them, even after his explanation earlier. He had crossed into Stage Four at the age of fifty, and since then, his body had reversed its decline. The older he became, the younger he appeared. It wasn’t something anyone in the room could fully understand—but no one questioned it either.You didn’t question someone like Ron.The room stilled as the prayer came to an end. Hands remained clasped for a brief second longer before slowly dropping.“The Holy One should deal with anyone standing against this family,” Rowan said, his voice firm, controlled. Then he added, “And right now, that person is Lombard. For the peace of this family.”A quiet murmur of ag