CHAPTER SEVENTY-ONE
The toxin vents hissed with increasing force, filling the narrow tunnel with a sharper metallic bite that made breathing difficult.
The console screen still glowed with Victoria’s younger, triumphant face, her laughter fading into expectant silence.
The playback of Elena’s own voice…clear, measured, and dated months earlier…echoed in the confined space like a final betrayal.
The words she had spoken in the study, thinking she was alone, now condemned her: reporting cracks in the circle, noting Lila’s time in the study, Sienna’s locket, Isabella’s painting, and confirming that the contracts could move forward if the resistant ones were isolated.
Elena stood motionless, her arm still loosely around Lila, but the twin bond suddenly felt fragile. The sensing of betra
