The man's voice was calm, but there was something brittle beneath it — like glass stretched too thin.
"I told you," he said slowly, eyes fixed on the darkened window, "if Selene and Robert meet… she dies."
The room was quiet after that. Not the peaceful kind of quiet, but the kind that presses against your ears and makes you aware of your own breathing. Kelvin's fingers tightened around the glass in his hand, the liquid inside trembling as though it sensed the danger in the air.
Across from him, the man leaned back in his chair, unimpressed. He had seen violence before. He had caused it. Threats did not move him easily.
"You're taking too long," He continued. "Half a month has already passed."
A faint frown appeared on the Kelvin's face, but it vanished just as quickly. He gave a reassuring smile — the sort people used when they were pretending everything was under control.
"Relax," he said. "Robert isn't as soft-hearted as you think. He'll handle it himself."
"And if he doesn't?" The man snapped.
There it was. The crack. Kelvin sighed. "Then you said you'd come for him in one month. We still have time."
Kelvin turned away from the window at last. His eyes were sharp now, burning with something far deeper than anger.
"On second thought," he said, his voice lowering, "maybe I don't want Robert to do it."
The man raised an eyebrow.
"Maybe," Kelvin went on, "I want to kill Selene myself."
That earned him a reaction.
"You'd kill your own daughter?"
Kelvin laughed — a hollow sound, empty of humor.
"She was supposed to make Katrin happy," he said. "That was all. That was the only reason she existed in this house."
The man studied him carefully now.
"You never loved her?"
Kelvin's jaw tightened.
"She was adopted," he said flatly. "From an orphanage no one ever asks questions about. No records. No parents who came looking. No one wanted her. I thought… I thought a child would fix things. Katrin wanted one so badly."
His voice wavered for just a second — barely noticeable, but real.
"And then Katrin lost her baby," Kelvin continued. "The miscarriage changed her. She became clingy. Fragile. Everything revolved around Selene after that. Everything."
The man leaned forward. "So you hated the child for surviving?"
Kelvin's eyes darkened.
"I said something," he admitted. "I said Selene was never our's, not important. I said we could always try again. I didn't think—"
"You didn't care," the man cut in.
Kelvin's silence confirmed it.
"Katrin got angry, that you could give up on her, you said it was a deal " the man said quietly.
"Yes," Kelvin replied. "And she killed herself not long after."
The room seemed to shrink around them.
"You'd rather have your wife than your daughter," the man said slowly.
Kelvin shook his head, a bitter smile forming.
"No. I'd rather have my wife and lose my daughter… than lose my wife because of her."
The man exhaled. "You've always been exactly the villain people say you are."
Kelvin didn't deny it.
"Now answer my question," the man said sharply. "Is the girl like them?"
Kelvin stiffened.
"She's not really ours," he said. "That's all you need to know."
"I asked if she's a vampire."
"She's is just a normal girl," Kelvin replied. "Something… insignificant. The orphanage knew it. That's why no one adopted her. That's why no records exist."
The man's patience snapped.
"I didn't ask for your life story," he growled. "Answer properly next time. I don't care how strong you are or that your lineage is special,try me, and I'll kill you. Then I'll go back to work like nothing happened."
The threat hung heavy between them.
Kelvin swallowed his anger and nodded once.
"Enough," the man said. "We'll wait. But if Robert has really softened, you know what happens."
Kelvin's lips curved into a thin smile.
"Yes," he said. "I do the killing with my bare hands
."
The man stood, stepping closer. For a moment, something unreadable passed between them — not affection, not trust, but mutual understanding. They leaned in, their lips meeting briefly.
The moment dissolved as quickly as it came.
---
Lexie jolted awake, her chest tight, breath uneven.
The room was dark, silent, unfamiliar. Moonlight slipped through the curtains, painting pale shadows across the walls. Her heart was still racing, the echoes of voices lingering in her mind — Kelvin's voice most of all.
She pressed a hand to her temple.
She didn't know who they were or why Selene's name was a topic
She didn't know why Selene's name felt heavy in her mouth, or why the word Enigma floated through her thoughts like a warning.
All she knew was this:
Some dreams were not just dreams.
And some secrets never used to stay buried. "Ahh,why is that bitch so popular, even in my dreams"