“You smell it too, don’t you?” she continued frantically. “We need to get out of here!”But Lombard only looked at her briefly before returning to the call again, continuing that same rude language he had been speaking ever since earlier.Spanish.Or whatever demonic version of it he preferred.“Lombard!”She grabbed his arm this time.“Let’s look for the exit!”Two seconds later—she realized something horrifying.Lombard did not look like a man planning to leave this house anytime soon.That was when his earlier warning finally returned to her mind.“You can leave now. I can’t guarantee your safety if you stay here five more minutes.”Her stomach dropped.If she had understood this was what he meant—she would have run immediately.Without thinking twice.Miss Sylvie turned and bolted through the mansion again.By now, smoke had spread through almost every hallway.Burning pieces of wood and decoration were falling from above.The heat was becoming suffocating.Whoever designed this

The veins in his neck bulged violently.He kept trying to break free.Carlos had his mouth wide open, unable to speak from sheer disbelief.Did this idiot not see him on his knees?And he was still screaming at Lombard with this much disrespect?“Give me my phone!” the man snapped at the people holding him.The men ignored him completely.If anything, they held him even tighter now, like their lives depended on it.The others who had crawled out of the car finally noticed Carlos kneeling too.None of them needed an explanation after that.Their faces changed instantly.One after another—they slowly dropped to their knees too, even while coughing violently.Their lungs still burned.That was when the man finally realized something was wrong.Very wrong.He looked around at everybody kneeling.Then back at Lombard.Then at Carlos.The anger on his face slowly cracked.Oh.Oh, shit.He was not supposed to be shouting at Lombard.Not after whatever the hell they had just witnessed.But i

“You’re here too, Abigail?” Riley asked. Her tone carried that strange polished friendliness rich people used when they wanted to sound warm while secretly measuring your worth. “You know Abigail already?” Alice asked in surprise while returning with bottles of water. “You never told me that, Abi.” “We only met recently,” Riley answered smoothly before Abigail could speak. “And we became very good friends already.” She lightly hugged Abigail. “Compatibility at first sight.” Anybody hearing the conversation would have instantly assumed the two women genuinely liked each other. Not that the last time they met involved Lombard, manipulation, tension, and enough hidden hostility to fuel a small war. “How have you been?” Riley continued sweetly. “I forgot to collect your number the other day.” Abigail almost admired how naturally she lied. Almost. “It’s nice seeing you again, really,” Abigail said smoothly. She was good at playing the politeness game too when necessary. “Hey,

He was too close to her. Abigail suddenly felt information forcing itself into her head. She didn't know where it all was coming from. Not memories. Something else. Fragments. Voices. Images. Too much at once. Her head started hurting immediately. “I don’t know what this is abo—” Riley snapped. Her hand shot toward Abigail’s stomach. The energy this time looked violent. Wild. Like she was trying to rip the answer out of her by force. But before it could touch Abigail— Cassian stepped directly in front of Riley. The energy crashed into him instead. The rebound was instant. Everything Riley sent out exploded backward toward her. The intensity of it made her stumble hard onto the sofa with a gasp. Cassian didn’t even look back at her. His eyes remained on Abigail the entire time. “I had to do that because you’re a pretty woman,” he repeated calmly. “But I won’t stop the next one.” Then he leaned slightly closer. And Abigail froze. Because with his hair falling

It was the look on Riley's face that shocked everyone.Because that wasn't the face of someone returning victorious.Nor was it the face of someone who had lost.It was worse.It was the face of someone who had seen something that made absolutely no sense.The room had already fallen silent.But the silence deepened further when several men came rushing through the entrance.They were carrying Cassian.Four men.Four.One holding each arm.One holding each leg.And even then, they appeared to be struggling under his weight.The sight alone caused murmurs to spread throughout the room.Cassian's aunt followed closely behind them.The moment she entered, she immediately signaled toward Cassian's mother and several of the elders.A signal only they understood.At once, they began moving deeper into the residence.Mireya instinctively took a step forward.She wanted to follow.But her mother placed a hand firmly on her shoulder."No."Mireya frowned.She didn't need further explanation.W