The ring was there, warm against his fingers. The merged ring, the one from Kim and the one from the auction, now fused into a single band of dark metal that seemed to drink the light. He hadn't worn it since that morning in Veronica's apartment, when he'd watched it melt together on the silk sheets.But he could feel it. Even through the fabric of his trousers, he could feel it pulsing, a slow rhythm that matched his heartbeat.PUT IT ON, something growled. Not a voice, exactly. An instinct. A pull.Saul pulled the ring out and held it up to the light. The engravings seemed to shift as he watched, the symbols flowing like water under a frozen surface. It was beautiful. It was terrifying.PUT IT ON!‘NO!’, he tried to yell back but the feeling overshadowed everything.PUT IT ON!!Hands trembling, he slid the ring onto his finger.The world didn't change. The office remained the same; the dark windows, the stacks of files, the soft hum of the air conditioner. But something shift

Leo stared at the woman for a long moment. He saw the exhaustion in her eyes, the tension in her jaw, the desperate hope she was trying so hard to hide."Are you sure?" Leo asked softly. "Are you sure he's really the same man Kimmy?"At the sound of her childhood nickname, Kim's hand dropped from his arm. She turned away, walking toward the window that overlooked the city. The lights of the skyline reflected off her face, casting her in shadows and gold."I don't know big brother," she admitted, her words almost fragile as she shrunk in on herself. "But I have to believe he is. Because if he's not..." She trailed off, her voice cracking. "If he's not, then I've been fighting for nothing. For three years, I've been fighting for nothing."Leo walked up behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder. His sunshine personality had dimmed, replaced by something quieter. Something more protective."He's different, yes," Leo said, eyes bright as he squeezed. "But you're right, you always h

But even as he thought it, he knew it wasn't true. The ring wasn't making him see anything. It was just... unlocking something. Something that had always been there. Something buried deep in his mind, waiting to be found.Everything wasmemories, Saul realized, and the thought made his blood run cold. They're were his memories. But….he didn't just want to remember them yet.He knelt there on the cold tile floor, the water still dripping from the showerhead, the steam still curling toward the ceiling, and tried to steady his breathing.One breath at a time, he told himself. One breath at a time.But even as he breathed, even as he tried to calm his racing heart, he could still see the man's face. Those blue eyes. That reaching hand.“Who are you? Why do you keep following me?” Saul rapsed through a tight throat.Ofcourse there was no response.The shower was empty. The bathroom was empty. The penthouse was empty.But Saul knew, with a certainty that made his skin crawl, that he wasn'

Saul's hand froze.He looked up.A woman was standing in the doorway. Mid-forties, sharp cheekbones, dark hair pulled back in a no-nonsense bun. She was wearing a tailored blazer and holding a keycard in her hand, her access card, probably, the one she'd forgotten.Her eyes narrowed. "What are you doing in my office?"Saul's heart stopped.Think, he told himself. Think fast.But his mind was blank. The words wouldn't come. He could feel the panic rising in his chest, the heat spreading across his neck. She was looking at him like he was a thief. Like she was about to call security.Say something. Anything.His hand moved on its own.He reached into his pocket and touched the ring.The metal was warm against his fingertips. The engravings seemed to pulse, a slow rhythm that matched his heartbeat. And then—something shifted. The panic didn't disappear, exactly. It drained away, replaced by something colder. Something calmer.The room came into sharper focus. The woman's posture was

The guard exchanged a glance with one of his coworkers.It was a woman with short red hair and a skeptical expression."We usually get a heads-up from the main office," the woman said.Saul shrugged. "Yeah, well, main office has been cracking down on security protocols. Too many breaches lately. They want to make sure everyone's doing their jobs." He gestured toward the monitors. "So I'm here to watch. Make sure everything's running the way it should."The guard hesitated for a moment longer. Then he nodded slowly. "Alright. Do what you need to do."Saul walked to the back of the room and stood in the shadows, his arms crossed over his chest, his eyes fixed on the wall of monitors.The security staff went back to their work, their attention drifting away from him. They chatted among themselves, shooting him looks from time to time but Saul ignored them pretty easily, his eyes practically glued tothe screens.Dozens of camera feeds flickered across the monitors, hallways, offices, park