— Sky… gasped Mel, her voice barely audible. The… the house paper… There was a name. Don… and Maria.
Sky frowned, trying to understand.
— What? Mel, you don't have much time, there's one minute left! Breathe, talk!
— Do… some research… on this Don. There has to be a connection…
Sky, her hand trembling, pulled out her phone and quickly typed "Don Carter + Maria." The first pages were ordinary, but an article from several years ago caught her attention: "Billionaire Don Carter spotted with mysterious Maria D., his mistress?"
— I found it! They're together in a picture! A dinner, rumors of infidelity, but nothing super popular… What does it change?
There were 30 seconds left.
Mel closed her eyes, each breath costing her. Her head was spinning, her heart heavy, her body numb. She didn't even believe anymore…
00:00:20
Mel clung to the edge of the secret drawer. Her thoughts were looping in her mind. One last try. She had no more ideas. Her heart was pounding so hard she thought it might give out.
— Sky… find… Cassie's date of birth… quick…
A short silence. Then Sky shouted into the phone:
— May 29, 2000! Try that! Quick, Mel!
With trembling hands, Mel typed the combination on the digital keypad.
00:00:06
00:00:05
2
9
0
5
2
0
0
0
An anxious silence.
Beep.
A clicking sound echoed.
The lock clicked open. Air rushed back into the room with a sharp hiss. The door locks released. The lights flickered for a second, then stabilized.
Mel collapsed gently to the floor, gasping. Tears welled in her eyes as she tried to breathe deeply. The system had just shut down… just in time.
A few seconds later, the bedroom door swung open.
— MEL! Sky shouted as she rushed in.
She ran to her, holding her tightly, relieved.
— You did it… You did it… Oh my god, I thought I was going to lose you…
Mel clung to her sister like a lifeline. She didn't even have the strength to speak.
— Thank you… she whispered faintly.
Sky stroked her hair, trying to soothe her. Then she looked up at the now open drawer and murmured:
— What could be so important… to deserve such a dangerous system?
Mel's half-closed eyes drifted toward the open compartment. Inside was a sealed envelope, an old golden key… and a medallion engraved with three interwoven symbols.
The Triade Solis.
(Nyra's lair, pitch-black night)
The room was shrouded in semi-darkness, lit only by the bluish flames of enchanted candles. The floor was marked with ancient symbols, etched in blood, and at the center lay a basin of black water, as deep as darkness itself.
Suddenly, the surface of the basin rippled. Golden sparks rose from the bottom and burst at the surface, casting flickers of light onto the stone walls. The flames flickered violently.
Nyra, in meditation, slowly opened her eyes. Her pupils, an unnatural violet, gleamed with a wicked light. She straightened up, lips curling into a cruel smile.
— "They are here…" she whispered. "The Triade Solis has formed."
She rose gracefully and moved toward an old grimoire placed on a blackened pedestal. With a fluid motion, she turned the pages, stopping at an illustration depicting three silhouettes interwoven in a triangle of light.
— "Their powers are still unstable… but together, they could destroy this world. Or hand it to me."
She turned to a shattered mirror hanging on the wall. The fragments reflected not her own face, but flashes of images: bursts of light, the faces of Cassie, Sky, and Mel, then the manor.
— "I must strike before they understand…"
She reached toward one of the shards, which briefly glowed, then darkened.
— "They don't know yet what I'm capable of… but they will learn."
And in a breath of black smoke, Nyra vanished.
(Decker & Co. Manor)
Silence weighed in the room, still steeped in the chaos it had nearly become. Mel, sitting on the floor, her breathing steadying again, felt her fingers slide along the edge of the barely opened secret drawer. Sky, kneeling beside her, looked at her worriedly. She picked up the envelope.
— You want to open it together? she asked gently.
Mel nodded. Slowly, she opened the envelope. Inside, neatly stored in an old cardboard folder, were letters, documents, secrets.
She took the first sheet. A handwritten letter. Maria's elegant writing stood out instantly.
|My dear Don,
I write to you trembling. I've made a decision that breaks me, but I have no choice. If someone were to discover our connection, it could destroy everything. Mel and Sky are safe here, but for Cassie… I know she'll be in good hands, even far from me. I carry her with love, and I pray that one day, they'll find each other again.|
Sky reached out and grabbed another letter. It was signed by Don Carter himself. Her voice trembled as she read aloud:
|Maria,
I bought the property in your name and mine. This manor is our hope. Maybe one day, our daughters will understand, when everything is ready. It's a risk, but I want to leave them something to hold on to.|
Mel's eyes widened. She grabbed a stack of documents. Birth certificates. Aligned copies.
Cassie Carter.
Sky Carter.
Melinda Carter.
All three… same father. Same mother.
— This can't be… Mel murmured, voice strangled.
— Yes. It can, Sky replied calmly, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder. She's… like us.
Mel stood up, eyes lost in the papers.
— Then why didn't Mom ever tell us? Why did she keep this secret?
Sky sighed, troubled.
Mel looked down at a final letter, sealed differently. A letter addressed to Cassie.
She hesitated, then kept it in her hand.
— We need to give this to her.
Mel nodded.
— But first… we need to talk. The three of us. For real.
(Grace's house, evening)
The main room was in darkness. The lights flicked on abruptly as she entered. Sitting in an armchair in a dark corner, a figure slowly came into view: Don.
Grace (surprised but not shocked):
— You know you could give me a heart attack, showing up in my living room like that? she said sarcastically.
— You should be afraid. Not for your heart. But of what you've just triggered, Don replied coldly.
— If this is about Cassie again, I'm warning you, Don. I've had a long day, she continued, calmly removing her coat.
Don stood up slowly…
— You sent her there, Grace. To that manor. With them. You didn't hesitate for a second. You didn't even wait for me to be ready to talk to them. You wanted the Triade Solis to form, admit it.
Grace crossed her arms, enigmatic.
— And what if I did? What would you have preferred? That we kept hiding her? That we waited until Nyra found them one by one, vulnerable?
Don stepped closer, his gaze hard.
— No. What I see is a woman who used the situation. You knew Sky and Mel were there. You knew Cassie would join them. You orchestrated everything.
— I just… brought them together. Nothing more. Sometimes fate needs a little push.
— Stop. You think I don't know you? You had a plan, Grace. You always do. Since the beginning. So talk. Tell me what you really want.
Grace (looking away, her voice lower):
— What I want? All I ever wanted was a perfect marriage, a perfect family, and a man… a man who's faithful and respects me.
Don frowned.
— You're not answering. Why now? Why so fast? You knew Cassie was unstable. You knew she didn't know anything about her true story. Yet you pushed her in headfirst.
Grace shrugged slightly.
— You forget you started all this. You're the one who created this chaos. I'm just cleaning up, like always.
— You're playing a dangerous game. And if Cassie finds out you knew… that you lied to her… She'll never forgive you, Don said tightly.
— Then she'll hate me. Like Ana. Like everyone. As long as they stay alive, I can bear their hate.
— And what if it's not you they destroy… but themselves?
Grace clenched her jaw. Then, without another word, she walked away, climbing the stairs, leaving Don alone in the shadows.