Julian had not called yet.
Lying in the quiet dark, Lyvana already found herself thinking about him. She had spoken to Emily earlier, who confird she would be returning with Ethan the following morning. But even that good news couldn’t quite settle the strange restlessness in her chest.
Beside her, her grandmother had insisted they sleep in the sa bed, just like they used to. She was sleeping peacefully, one frail hand resting near Lyvana’s arm, as though, even in sleep she was trying to protect her.
Comforted by the old woman’s presence, Lyvana finally closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep.
But then, she had a strange dream.
She stood alone in an endless void. There were no walls, no ground and no horizon.
Only darkness stretching forever. Above her, the sky was a strange deep purple color.
In front of her stood a massive, towering mirror. She walked up to it and looked inside.
But she didn’t see her own reflection. Instead, a tall, pale woman with pitch-black eyes and long black hair stared back at her. The woman was wearing a gray robe and looked almost human, although there was sothing deeply inhuman about her.
Then the voice ca inside her head.
Kill yourself.
She flinched violently, clutching her chest.
In the mirror, the pale woman’s lips curved into a slow, unnatural smile that stretched far too wide across her face. Her bottomless black eyes locked onto Lyvana.
The voice echoed again, this ti mixed with whispers, cries, and screams that filled her head and made her feel like her skull was splitting apart.
You are an anomaly. A glitch in the design. Return what doesn’t belong to you. Return your life.
Suddenly, an unbearable pressure surged through Lyvana’s body.
Her hands trembled violently as she fought a sudden, overwhelming urge to claw at her own neck. It was a strange and terrifying impulse, as though so dark invisible force wanted her to tear herself apart with her own hands.
"No," Lyvana forced the word out of her tight throat. Her voice sounded small and fragile against the vast, empty space. "I am alive. I am here."
The woman in the mirror tilted her head, her black hair swaying as if she were underwater.
Crack.
A fracture split across the glass.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Spiderweb fractures exploded outward from the woman’s forehead while the entire mirror trembled violently.
And suddenly, the woman moved forward. Toward her.
Lyvana scread and jolted awake.
She sat upright in bed, gasping for air.
Beside her, her grandmother stirred slightly, letting out a soft, breath in her sleep, completely unaware of the nightmare that had just taken place.
Lyvana pressed a trembling hand to her chest. Yet her heart would not slow down.
It had not felt like a dream...
It felt like a dark premonition coming from a future she hadn’t lived yet.
Or perhaps, it was a haunting reminder of the past tiline she was trying desperately to rewrite.
Who was that woman? And why were the nightmares becoming worse now?
Carefully, Lyvana swung her legs over the side of the bed, making sure not to wake her grandmother.
Kill yourself.
You do not belong here.
The whisper echoed through her mind again.
Lyvana wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling too cold.
First the dream about the warehouse raid. Now this nightmare.
Sothing was wrong.
Deeply wrong.
For the first ti since returning, fear curled around her chest. Perhaps this was no longer sothing logic could explain.
Maybe it was finally ti to speak to soone spiritual. Because whatever was happening to her no longer felt ordinary.
....
anwhile, back in Spain, Julian Blackwood was dealing with a very different kind of problem.
His n had already rounded up the five company executives suspected of sabotaging his investnts. Dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, they had been brought straight to Julian’s private mountain lodge overlooking the dark Spanish coastline.
None of them had even been given ti to change properly.
One man still wore bedroom slippers.
Another’s hands shook so badly he could barely hold his glasses.
The atmosphere inside the lodge was suffocating.
"Mr. Blackwood, please understand our position," one of the CEOs said nervously, smoothing the wrinkles from his expensive silk pajamas. "Our company is currently restructuring several central assets. We fully intend to honor our financial obligations, but the market collapse severely affected our subsidiary firms this quarter."
Sweat dripped from his temple despite the cold room.
"We are liquidating assets as quickly as possible," he continued hurriedly. "We aren’t trying to deceive you. We simply need more ti to stabilize."
Julian sat silently on the massive leather sofa across from them, one arm resting lazily against the armrest while he swirled red wine inside his crystal glass.
His expression remained unreadable.
Then he gave a low, cold snort.
Typical.
Cowards always hid behind corporate language when they thought money could save them.
But Julian had already investigated everything before bringing them here.
He knew the delayed paynts were deliberate.
He knew soone had paid them to interfere with his company.
And he knew these n thought he would negotiate.
Without warning, Julian stood.
The sudden movent alone made several of the executives flinch.
Then he walked towards them
Before the speaking CEO could even react, Julian seized him violently by the collar and lifted him clean off the ground like dead weight.
The man let out a strangled cry.
A second later, Julian hurled him across the room.
The CEO’s body slamd brutally into the solid mahogany wall with a sickening crack before collapsing onto the marble floor.
A horrified silence filled the lodge.
Blood dripped slowly from the man’s mouth onto the front of his white pajama shirt.
The remaining executives turned pale.
One of them nearly collapsed from fear.
"B-Brother Julian," another stamred desperately, "it’s not that my company intentionally withheld the ten billion dollars! The offshore accounts were temporarily frozen and the investors panicked and..."
"I am not interested in your flimsy excuses." He slowly adjusted the cuff of his black sleeve before continuing.
"I already know soone paid you to sabotage my investnts," he said coldly. "So don’t insult my intelligence by pretending this is about market instability."
Nobody dared speak.
The only sound left was the faint crackling of the fireplace and the injured CEO groaning weakly on the floor.
Julian’s dark gaze swept across all of them.
"Now," he said, setting his wine glass down with a soft clink, "I will ask this one ti. Who paid you to double cross ."
"Arthur Reed," one of the older n blurted out.
....
Adrian Blackwood arrived at Zara’s residence exactly as promised two days ago.
At breakfast that morning, he had been unusually attentive. Charming and overly affectionate. Every conversation had sohow circled back to convincing her that the DNA test was unnecessary.
According to him, he was sure the chairman had intentionally switched the test results. So they should focus on taking the underground position from Julian.
Zara had smiled through all of it and pretended to believe him.
But the more Adrian tried to discourage her, the more suspicious she beca.
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