CHAPTER TWENTY
The whisper slithered through the pitch-black crypt like smoke.
“Hello, sister. Ready to meet our real mother?”
Elena’s heart slammed against her ribs. She felt Jax’s hand tighten around hers, his body shifting instinctively to shield her.
The darkness was absolute…no emergency lights, no faint moonlight through cracks, just cold marble and the faint scent of lilies and stone dust.
“Lila?” Elena’s voice came out hoarse, echoing off the tombs.
A soft click. A single small flashlight beam snapped on, illuminating Lila’s face from below.
The silver scar along her jaw gleamed like a fresh wound. She stood only ten feet away, between two marble sarcophagi, holding the light in one hand and the black USB drive in the other.
“You’re early,” Lila said, almost amused. “Moth
