CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
The river dock smelled of diesel and rotting wood. Elena and Jax huddled behind the shipping containers, the cold night wind cutting through their borrowed clothes.
Elena’s phone was gone, tossed into the black water, but the weight of Victoria’s last message still pressed on her chest like a tombstone.
“If you bring Lila, I will kill you both.
If you come alone, I will make you my heir.”
Jax checked the cheap burner Theo had given them before they left the safe house. “It’s almost 10 p.m. We have one hour until Lila expects us here. We need to decide now…run with her or walk into the crypt alone.”
Elena stared at the flash drive in her palm, the small silver locket still heavy in her pocket…Two locks of baby hair. Two daughters.
One empire built on lies and de
