Undercurrents Return
The hallway of Kingsbury's West District Police Station reeked of disinfectant and old carpet. Officer Jennifer pushed open the interrogation room door, her tone gentle yet professionally detached. "This child has been through hell. Finding her family after ten years missing—you'll need to take extra care of her."
The girl sitting on the plastic chair rose at the sound, fingers twisting the hem of her outdated floral dress. A gaudy pink flower clip tangled with her yellowing hair, making her look like a forgotten doll in some secondhand shop. This was Elvira, twenty years old, her eyes holding a wariness that seemed far too old for her face.
Ten years ago, a car accident in Kingsbury had claimed her parents' lives, leaving behind only the town's sympathy and a substantial inheritance. Her uncle Liam and aunt Melinda had rushed in from the countryside to handle the funeral arrangements, but within six months of taking custody of their orphaned niece, they had somehow "lost" her. Now they were local nouveau riche, running a successful trading company, while Elvira had supposedly been raised by farmers in some remote area, only recently returning to the city and recovering her memories.
When Melinda click-clacked into the police station on her designer heels, her perfume instantly overpowered the hallway's stale air. Her critical gaze swept over Elvira's mud-stained canvas shoes, inwardly sneering. If the ladies at charity galas knew I had a relative with such... taste... She forced down her disgust and accepted the paperwork—Liam had repeatedly insisted they must take the girl back.
As the gilded gates of Silver Bay Estate closed behind them, Liam stood beneath a crystal chandelier with open arms. "Elvira! Let your uncle get a look at you... My God, you're skin and bones!" His warm palm touched her shoulder, his voice pained. "This is your home now. Whatever you need, just ask!"
Melinda crossed her arms and watched coldly until the maid Martha led the girl up the curved staircase. Only then did she grab her husband's shirt front. "Have you lost your mind, Liam? Putting that little savage next door to Vivi's room?"
"Keep your voice down!" Liam gripped his wife's wrist and dragged her into his study. "Do you remember the Stone family's crazy son, Noah? Are you really willing to sacrifice our precious Victoria to him?"
"But the Stone family is old money..."
"Old money? That Noah Stone lost control three years ago and burned down half their ancestral castle! Marriage to him would be a living widowhood!" He lowered his voice with a cold laugh. "The marriage contract only requires a daughter of the Norton bloodline—it doesn't specify she has to be biological..."
In the second-floor guest room, curtains half-drawn, Elvira locked her door and lightly touched a hidden clasp on her hair clip. "Ghost, report status."
"Y-country base eliminated, S-country hostages all recovered." The voice on the other end paused. "Chief, the Stone family case is too low-level to warrant your personal—"
"Consider it a vacation." She cut the transmission, the metal petals of her clip catching cold light—a perfectly crafted intelligence device by GADTech, now masquerading as tacky decoration.
A shrill voice suddenly erupted outside: "Let me see this country bumpkin!" The door burst open, heavy Chanel perfume flooding in first. Victoria swept into the room with arms crossed, her crimson nails nearly touching Elvira's nose. "Listen here, I don't care what charity case my parents have taken on, but you're getting out of Silver Bay Estate right now!"
Seeing no response, she raised her hand for a slap—only to find herself spinning through the air the next second, her back slamming hard into the Persian rug! All air rushed from her lungs, leaving her curled up coughing tears, hearing only a calm voice above: "I need to rest now."
When Liam and Melinda rushed upstairs, they found Victoria sobbing hysterically. "This psycho attacked me! If you don't get rid of her, I'm running away!"
"We graciously take you in, and you assault your cousin?" Melinda shrieked.
Elvira shrank back, her voice trembling: "She burst in and tried to hit me... I got bullied a lot on the farm, so I just reacted..." Tears clung to her lashes, her shoulders shaking. "I'm sorry, Uncle. I was so scared..."
Liam took a deep breath, swallowing his anger. "Fine. Just be more careful next time." He forcibly dragged away his crying wife and daughter. The moment the door lock clicked shut, the tears in Elvira's eyes vanished, replaced by the sharp gleam of ice on a frozen lake.
She opened her palm, and a micro-projection materialized in the air showing Noah Stone's profile photo. The man's features were deep as a starlit night, yet three years ago he had suddenly gone mad—and the Stone family's tangled connections to international arms dealing were precisely the key lead Interpol had been tracking.
The marriage contract would be her perfect entry ticket. She crushed the light projection, remembering Ghost's warning from three hours earlier: "Norton Group runs deeper than we imagined. Both heirs, Alex and Daniel, are fighting for succession..."
Outside the window, twilight saturated Silver Bay Estate's rose gardens. She clipped the hairpin back against her temple. The pink petals gleamed with cold undertones in the darkness, like a blade dipped in honey.
