The morning light was deceptively calm, but the quiet only made the storm waiting inside the Vale estate all the more ominous. Outside, the city moved on, indifferent to the chaos that loomed within these walls, but I knew better. Today, Victoria would strike.
I hadn’t slept. Not really. My mind replayed the previous night endlessly: Victoria’s smirk, the photograph of my mother, the cold weight of her threats. My pulse was still racing, a reminder that nothing—no walls, no security, no Adrian—could fully shield me from her reach.
Adrian was beside me, as always. His presence was a constant I leaned on, a wall of warmth and authority. He draped his arm around my waist as we walked toward the kitchen, grounding me in ways I didn’t even realize I needed.
“You’re quiet,” he murmured, voice
