“Yeah. They’re around,” Lombard said with a light chuckle. “They made it clear they wouldn’t help.”He shrugged.“I had my kid sister. That was enough. We figured life out.”The old man nodded slowly.“That’s… Vivienne August.”He said it like he was trying to remind Lombard of the name. But Toby wasn’t listening anymore.Her mind had already caught something else.Kid sister.A name clicked into place in her head.Vivienne .Vivienne August.Her heart skipped.If that was Lombard’s sister…Then this man sitting here—This calm, unserious, slightly ridiculous man—Was not normal.At all.She knew the kind of presence Vivienne carried.The kind of silence that followed her into rooms.The kind that made grown men straighten up without knowing why.And yet… outside of that, she looked completely ordinary. Just another confident woman who carried herself well.But people who knew… knew.And if Lombard was her brother—Toby’s fingers tightened slightly under the table.She was not deal

Abigail had just finished telling Alice everything.Everything that had happened with the boss of the Cataract team.And just like the first time she had mentioned them, Alice reacted harder than she did.Only this time… there was fear mixed into it.Because this had been her idea.She had been the one who told Abigail to play along.To make them believe she was who they thought she was.So they could get close.So they could control the situation.And now?It had blown up in their faces.“Damn it,” Alice muttered, pacing. “Those guys are insane.”Abigail leaned back, her voice quieter now.“I don’t want to just… disappear,” she said. “I still have things I want to do. Places I want to go.”A small, tired smile touched her lips.“I haven’t even gone to a beach yet. Just… sat there alone. You know? All those things on my list…”Alice stopped pacing.Turned to her.“Hey,” she said firmly. “We’re getting through this. Together.”She walked over and sat beside her.“I’m not leaving you in

The Belmont family had been waiting for Mireya all day.But Mireya had not been anywhere close to coming home.Something had come up at work—urgent enough to pull her in immediately. It took over two hours to settle, and by the time she got back into her car, she had almost completely forgotten that her mother had called her earlier… asking about Ron.It wasn’t until she started driving that it hit her.She was supposed to be home.She drove really fast. The fact that her mother had not been called after then didn't make her how to feel about this. But, wait, Rowan was supposed to have been home with Ron already. She dialed his number. She was directed straight to voicemail. Wait, what? She didn't have time to think more about why the call might have gone straight to voicemail before she drove into the estate, pulled in. By the time she arrived, the house was already full.Every single member of the family was there.Even the ones she hadn’t seen since she was a child.The moment

Back in the house, Lombard stood up slowly.He hadn’t come here for anything complicated. Just sleep. That was the plan.But the nap he’d taken earlier had already drained whatever little rest his body could offer.He dragged a hand over his face and walked into the bathroom, turning on the tap. Cold water splashed against his skin.When he looked up at the mirror, he paused.For a second, he didn’t recognize the man staring back.He looked like someone who had just buried an entire family.“…crazy,” he muttered under his breath.He shook his head, pushing the thought away, and stepped out of the bathroom.The house was quiet.Too quiet.He walked into the sitting room, expecting to find Finn sprawled somewhere, probably doing something stupid.Nothing.Lombard frowned.“Finn?”No answer.He turned back toward the room to grab his phone—and that was when he saw it.A note.Right there, in front of the door.He picked it up, eyes scanning through it.His jaw tightened slightly.Then he

In every way she could think of, Abigail had tried to convince Alice that this wasn’t the right move.Dragging Lombard into this?No.He didn’t even look like someone who could handle himself—talk less of going up against monsters like the Cataract team.But Alice?Once she made up her mind, that was it.No turning back.They finally pulled up in front of Finn’s house—the place Alice had tracked down as Lombard’s current location.Abigail felt it immediately.That awkward twist in her chest.The memory of how she had treated Lombard earlier.And now?She was about to walk in and ask him for help.Yeah.That didn’t sit right.“This is a bad idea,” she muttered under her breath.Alice didn’t even respond.Of course she didn’t.She was already stepping out of the car.Abigail sighed and followed.But the mome