Elena sat on the edge of her bed in the small apartment, knees pulled up close to her chest. The room felt too quiet. The only sounds were the low hum of the fridge in the kitchen and the occasional creak of the old floorboards when she shifted her weight. Her mother was asleep in the next room, breathing steady and even now that the new heart was doing its job. Elena should have felt grateful. Instead, every beat of that heart reminded her of the price.Her mother’s words from weeks ago still played in her head on repeat. *“He bought my life so he could own the secret I’m holding.”*Elena rubbed her eyes. She hadn’t slept properly since the warehouse. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Leo kicking open that door, gun in hand, face cold and focused like he had done it a hundred times before. The boy who used to share fries with her in the library was gone. In his place was someone who could buy hospitals and end lives with a phone call.She stood up and walked into the kitchen.

Elena woke up with a heavy feeling in her chest. She lay there for a minute staring at the ceiling, listening to her mother moving around in the kitchen. The smell of coffee and toast drifted into the room. Normal stuff. The kind of morning they used to have before everything got complicated. She sat up slowly and rubbed her face. Her eyes felt swollen from the night before. Maya’s words kept playing in her head, mixing with what her mother had said weeks ago about the heart transplant.She got out of bed and walked into the kitchen. Her mom was at the counter pouring coffee into two mugs. She looked better these days, stronger, with color in her cheeks. Elena forced a smile when her mom turned around.“Morning, Mom. You sleep okay?”“Better than you, looks like.” Her mother handed her a mug and studied her face. “You were up late. Still thinking about that boy?”Elena took the mug and sat at the small table. The wood was scratched in places from years of use. “Yeah. It’s hard not to.

“Sir, you should really see a doctor.”Dominic’s voice was tight as he drove slower now, both hands gripping the wheel. The SUV moved through quieter streets, the earlier chaos left behind at the accident scene.Leo sat in the back, pressing a folded cloth against the cut on his temple. Blood had soaked through a little, but he didn’t care. The pain in his ribs flared every time the car hit a bump, reminding him of the warehouse fight just days ago. He looked at his reflection in the dark window — tired eyes, messy hair, a small bruise already forming on his cheek.“I’m fine,” Leo said. His voice came out rough. “Keep driving. We’re not stopping.”Dominic glanced at him in the mirror. “That truck hit us hard. You hit your head pretty bad. At least let me take you to one of our private clinics. No one will know.”Leo shook his head. “No. Voss is watching every move. If I show up at a clinic, she’ll know I’m rattled. I need her to think I’m still in control.” He pulled out his phone and

Elena sat at the small kitchen table, staring at the half-eaten toast on her plate. Her mother stood at the counter, pouring coffee into two mugs. The smell of it filled the apartment, warm and familiar, but it did nothing to ease the knot in Elena’s stomach.“You look like you didn’t sleep,” her mother said, sliding one mug toward her. Her voice carried that mix of worry and frustration she had used a lot lately. “Was it the message again? The one with my photo?”Elena took the mug and wrapped her hands around it. The heat felt good against her cold fingers. “Yeah. And the video. They sent a video this time, Mom. It was you sleeping on the couch last night. They were right outside our window.”Her mother’s face went tight. She set her own mug down hard enough that coffee sloshed over the rim. “This is exactly what I warned you about. Leo paid for my heart so he could control us. Now these people are using me to get to him. You need to stay away from him, Elena. Completely. No message

Leo stood in the private room at the back of the old administration building, phone in hand, eyes locked on the screen. The janitor uniform was still on, but the man wearing it had just become the owner of another major piece of the city.“Confirm the transfer,” he said into the phone. His voice was low and sharp. “The factory district is mine now. Every warehouse, every loading dock, every access road. Lock it down.”Sebastian answered on the other end. “Done. The papers are signed. We control the entire south industrial zone. Voss lost three of her main supply routes in one move. She’ll feel this by morning.”Leo’s face stayed hard. No smile. Just cold satisfaction. “Good. Start the next phase. The riverfront warehouses. I want them by tomorrow night. Cut off every escape route she has left in this city.”He ended the call and slipped the phone into his pocket. For a second he allowed himself to feel the weight of what he was doing. Millions moving in silence. Buildings changing han