Her real family.
The ones who replaced her at birth and pretended she drowned. The ones who crushed every dream she had.
Her chest tightened with a familiar fury. 'They thought I was finished. They thought I would never rise again.'
She inhaled deeply, reminding herself that survival demanded selfishness.
'If I am not selfish, I won't live long enough to take back what they stole.'
Meanwhile, in a brightly lit office across town, Milo sat at his desk surrounded by reports and a faint scent of coffee lingering from the mug beside him.
His phone buzzed quietly, and an email notification slid across the screen.
The moment Milo's eyes landed on the subject line, his expression changed entirely.
A thin shiver crawled up his arms as he leaned closer to the screen, barely able to swallow the dryness gathering in his throat.
