I wake up to someone banging on my door like the house is on fire.
"Isabella!" Marcus's voice cuts through my sleep-hazed brain. "Council meeting in an hour. Get dressed."
Right. Because yesterday wasn't hellish enough, today I get to face formal charges.
"Coming!" I call back, rolling out of the stupidly comfortable bed.
My phone shows 7:30 AM. The hearing is at nine, which means I have just enough time to shower, get dressed, and mentally prepare for whatever fresh nightmare awaits me in that underground dungeon.
The hot water helps clear my head, but it can't wash away the knot of dread in my stomach. Today they're going to officially accuse me of using illegal enhancements to fake supernatural powers. Like I'm some kind of fraud who's been playing the long game since birth.
If only they knew the truth was so much weirder.
I throw on jeans and a sweater—no point in dressing up for my own execution—and grab my phone to check for messages.
Mom texted three times. Dad called twice. Sarah sent a string of worried emojis that somehow manages to look both supportive and terrified.
No word from the mysterious Adrian, though. Not that I was expecting any. Guys who lurk in shadows and disappear like smoke probably aren't big on morning texts.
A knock at the door interrupts my brooding. "Come in."
Mrs. Hendricks enters with a breakfast tray that looks like something from a five-star hotel. Fresh fruit, pastries, coffee that smells like heaven.
"Mr. Blackwood thought you might be too nervous to eat downstairs," she says, setting the tray on the small table by the window.
Too nervous, or they don't want me wandering around unsupervised.
"That's thoughtful of him."
She nods and turns to leave, then pauses. "Miss Sterling? For what it's worth, I don't think you're a fraud."
The unexpected kindness hits me like a punch to the chest. "Thank you, Mrs. Hendricks."
"Just... be careful who you trust. Not everyone in this house has your best interests at heart."
Before I can ask what she means by that, she's gone, leaving me with more questions and a tray of food I'm too anxious to eat.
Be careful who you trust. Like I need another reason to be paranoid.
I manage to choke down some fruit and coffee, then head downstairs to find Marcus waiting by the front door. He's dressed in a charcoal suit that probably costs more than most people's rent, looking every inch the young Alpha heir.
"Ready for round two?" he asks, offering me his arm.
"Can't wait," I mutter, taking it because I have to.
The ride to Trinity Church passes in tense silence. Marcus keeps glancing at me like he's trying to solve a puzzle, but I stare out the window and pretend to be fascinated by morning traffic.
The underground chamber looks even more intimidating in daylight—or what passes for daylight down here. The torches cast dancing shadows on the stone walls, making the whole place feel like a medieval courtroom.
Which, let's be honest, it basically is.
All twelve Council members are present this time, along with what looks like a court stenographer and two guards stationed by the doors. They're not taking any chances with me.
I take my seat in the accused chair, trying to project confidence I don't feel. Around the circle, familiar faces wear expressions ranging from suspicious to openly hostile.
Only Dr. Rosewood looks pleased to see me. She has her medical bag again, along with what appears to be a thick file folder.
This should be fun.
"Isabella Sterling," Elder Harrison begins, his voice echoing off the stone ceiling. "You stand accused of using artificial enhancements to simulate supernatural abilities, with the intent to deceive the Council and unlawfully claim powers beyond your designated classification."
The formal language makes it sound like I robbed a bank instead of having an emotional breakdown.
"How do you plead?"
I stand up, because that seems like the thing to do. "Not guilty."
"Not guilty." His smile is sharp as a blade. "Very well. Dr. Rosewood, please present your findings from yesterday's examination."
She stands, opening her folder with theatrical precision. "Thank you, Elder Harrison. After extensive testing, I can confirm that Miss Sterling's biological markers are consistent with Omega classification. However, her spiritual frequency reads as Alpha—specifically, ancient Alpha, a bloodline we haven't seen in over three centuries."
Murmurs ripple around the chamber. I catch fragments:
"—impossible without intervention—"
"—genetic manipulation—"
"—dangerous precedent—"
"Order!" Harrison bangs his gavel. "Dr. Rosewood, in your professional opinion, how might such an anomaly occur?"
"There are three possibilities." She adjusts her glasses, clearly enjoying being the center of attention. "First, an extremely rare genetic mutation. Second, artificial enhancement through magical means. Or third..."
She pauses for dramatic effect.
"She was never truly an Omega to begin with."
The chamber erupts in whispers and shocked gasps. I feel like I'm watching a really bad courtroom drama, except my life hangs in the balance.
"If Miss Sterling isn't an Omega," Elder Chen interjects, "then her entire classification was falsified from birth. That would constitute fraud on a massive scale."
"Indeed." Harrison's cold eyes focus on me. "Miss Sterling, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
I stand again, legs shaky but voice steady. "I've been told I was an Omega my entire life. If that's not true, then someone lied to me just as much as they lied to you."
"Convenient," Elder Martinez snorts. "Blame everyone else while claiming innocence."
"I'm not claiming innocence. I'm claiming ignorance." The words come out sharper than I intended. "You want to know what I think? I think someone's been playing games with all of us. The question is who."
"Interesting theory," Harrison says. "Do you have any evidence to support it?"
"Not yet. But I'm working on it."
That gets me some sharp looks. Maybe I shouldn't have admitted to conducting my own investigation.
"Working on it how?" Elder Blackwood—Marcus's grandfather—leans forward in his chair.
Shit. "I mean, I'm trying to understand what happened to me. Same as you are."
"I see." Harrison doesn't look convinced. "Dr. Rosewood, have you discovered anything else that might shed light on this situation?"
"Actually, yes." She pulls out another device—this one looks like a high-tech recorder. "I'd like to conduct one more test, if the Council permits."
"What kind of test?"
"Memory resonance. Sometimes traumatic events or supernatural awakening can trigger buried memories. If Miss Sterling has been suppressed or manipulated, this device might help her recall details she's forgotten."
Memory resonance. That sounds terrifying and invasive and exactly like something I need to avoid.
"Is that really necessary?" I ask.
"I'm afraid so." Harrison's tone suggests this isn't optional. "We need to determine the truth of your situation. Dr. Rosewood, proceed."
She approaches with the device, which looks like a cross between a headband and a medieval torture instrument. Small sensors dangle from thin wires.
"This won't hurt," she says, fitting the contraption over my head. "Just relax and let your mind wander. The device will amplify any suppressed memories."
The last thing I want is my memories amplified. Especially the ones about time travel and future murders.
"I don't think this is a good idea," I say, but she's already activating the machine.
A low humming fills the air. The sensors feel cold against my temples.
"Think back to your childhood," Dr. Rosewood's voice sounds distant, hypnotic. "Any unusual experiences. Dreams that felt too real. Moments when you felt different from other children."
Against my will, memories start surfacing. Birthday parties where I felt separate from the other kids. Family dinners where conversations stopped when I entered the room. Late-night arguments between my parents that cut off the moment they saw me.
But there's something else. Something that doesn't belong.
A memory that isn't mine.
I'm lying on a marble floor, blood pooling beneath me. Marcus stands over me with a silver blade, explaining why this is necessary. Why Omegas can't inherit power.
"Interesting," Dr. Rosewood murmurs. "I'm reading elevated neural activity. Strong emotional resonance with... a future event?"
My eyes snap open. She's staring at the device's readout with fascination and something that might be fear.
"That's impossible," Elder Harrison says.
"Unless it isn't." She meets my gaze, and I see knowledge there. Dangerous knowledge. "Isabella, are you experiencing visions? Prophetic dreams?"
"No," I lie quickly. "Nothing like that."
But she doesn't believe me. I can see it in her eyes.
"Let's try a different approach." She adjusts something on the machine. "Instead of looking backward, let's see if we can access any... unusual information you might possess."
The humming gets louder. The sensors grow colder.
And suddenly I'm not in the Council chamber anymore.
I'm in my bedroom at the Blackwood estate, three years in the future. But it's different. Darker. There's a figure sitting in the chair by the window, shrouded in shadow.
"You have to remember," the figure says, and I realize it's me. An older version of me, with silver-streaked hair and eyes that have seen too much. "They killed Mom and Dad. They'll kill you too unless you fight back."
"How?" I hear myself ask.
"Trust Adrian Kane. He's the only one who can help you. Marcus will try to kill you on October 13th at 11:47 PM, but that's not the real threat. Elena is the real enemy. She's been planning this for decades."
The vision starts to fade, but my future self grabs my arm.
"One more thing. Check your phone. I left you a message."
I jerk back to awareness, gasping. The Council chamber comes back into focus, along with twelve pairs of staring eyes.
"Fascinating," Dr. Rosewood breathes, studying her readouts. "I've never seen anything like this. The neural patterns suggest precognitive ability—knowledge of future events."
"That's impossible," Elder Chen protests. "Humans don't have precognitive abilities."
"Humans don't," she agrees. "But whatever Isabella is, she's not entirely human anymore."
Not entirely human. The words hit me like ice water.
"I need a moment," I say, pulling off the headband with shaking hands. "This is a lot to process."
"Of course." Harrison's voice is gentler now. "We'll take a fifteen-minute recess."
As the Council members file out, I slump in my chair, mind reeling. The vision felt so real. So immediate.
Check your phone. I left you a message.
With trembling fingers, I pull out my phone and scroll through my apps. Nothing new in messages or calls. But wait—there's an audio memo I don't remember recording.
The timestamp shows three years in the future. October 13th, 2025. 11:46 PM.
One minute before Marcus kills me.
I look around the empty chamber, making sure I'm alone, then hit play.
My own voice fills the air, but older. More desperate.
"Bella, if you're hearing this, then the time travel worked. Listen carefully because I don't have long. Adrian Kane is telling the truth—trust him. Marcus is going to kill you on October 13th, 2025 at 11:47 PM in Dad's office. But that's not the real problem. Elena Rosewood isn't just a doctor. She's a witch who's been suppressing your true nature since birth. Mom and Dad's car accident wasn't an accident. She killed them because they found out what she was doing to you."
My blood turns to ice.
"Elena needs you alive but controllable. She's been using you as some kind of supernatural battery, siphoning off your power for her own uses. The memory device she's using on you right now? It's not reading your memories—it's implanting new ones. False memories designed to make you trust her."
I look toward the door where Dr. Rosewood disappeared. She could come back any second.
"You have to get away from her. From all of them. Find Adrian. He knows how to break the suppression spell. But be careful—Elena's planning something big, and you're the key to it. Don't let her—"
The recording cuts off abruptly.
I sit there in stunned silence, trying to process what I just heard.
Elena killed my parents.
Elena has been suppressing my powers and stealing my energy.
Elena is using me as some kind of supernatural weapon.
And she's been doing it my entire life.
Footsteps echo in the corridor outside. The Council members are returning.
I quickly delete the audio file and slip my phone back into my pocket. When Dr. Rosewood enters the chamber, I'm sitting calmly in my chair like nothing happened.
But inside, everything has changed.
I know who the real enemy is now.
The question is: what am I going to do about it?
"Feeling better?" Dr. Rosewood asks, setting up her device again.
"Much better," I lie. "Ready to continue."
She smiles that gentle, maternal smile that I now know hides a monster.
"Excellent. Let's see what other memories we can uncover."
As she approaches with the memory device, I realize this is my moment of choice. I can submit to more testing and let her continue manipulating my mind, or I can fight back.
I think about the business card in my jacket pocket. About Adrian's warning in the garden.
About my future self's desperate message from beyond the grave.
Time to choose a side.
And I choose mine.
End of Chapter 5