Author name: Hauda.A

Elena had thirty minutes before her family arrived. Rafe was in an emergency meeting about the Serpent Syndicate, coordinating protection […]

The call came three days after the standoff with Rafe’s father. Elena was in the library, curled up in the

Elena woke to an empty bed. Not unusual—Rafe often rose early for meetings, phone calls with international contacts, the endless

Elena spent two weeks in the secured hospital suite. Two weeks of healing, of antibiotics and pain medication, of Rafe

The surgery took four hours. Rafe stood in the OR the entire time, masked and gloved, watching Dr. Demir work.

The opportunity came three days later. Danny’s birthday arrived, and Rafe kept his promise. A secure line. Ten minutes. Elena

Elena dreamed of the ocean. Not the controlled, chlorinated pool in Rafe’s basement, but the real thing—vast and wild and

The celebration Rafe promised turned out to be dinner. Not in the formal dining room with crystal and tension, but

They stayed in the panic room for six hours. Karim and his team swept the entire estate, finding three hidden

Elena woke to silence. Not the comfortable quiet of a sleeping house, but something heavier. Oppressive. Like the air itself