The voice on the phone didn't belong in the living world.
It slipped into my ears like a ghost.
"Sis," she repeated softly. "You sound surprised."
My fingers tightened around the phone. "You're dead."
A laugh followed—light, amused, cruel.
"So were you," she replied. "Yet here we are."
Lucian's hand settled on my lower back, firm and grounding. I felt his presence immediately shift from controlled to lethal.
"Where are you?" I demanded.
"Oh," my sister said gently, "still letting Lucian protect you?"
Lucian's jaw tightened. He leaned closer, his voice cold and sharp. "Put it on speaker."
I hesitated.
"She can hear you," my sister added. "And see you, too."
My blood turned to ice.
"Don't," Lucian warned, his eyes scanning the room.
The line crackled.
"You didn't think I'd come back without watching first, did you?" she continued. "You always needed supervision."
"Why are you doing this?" I whispered.
"Because you stole my life," she said calmly. "And then you died before I could take it back."
Lucian took the phone from my trembling hand.
"You should've stayed buried," he said.
My sister laughed again. "Still possessive. Still arrogant."
Her tone sharpened. "But tell me, Lucian—does she know the truth yet?"
My heart slammed against my ribs.
"What truth?" I asked.
Silence stretched.
Then—
"She was never meant to survive that fire," my sister said softly. "You chose the wrong woman."
Lucian's grip tightened on the phone.
"You're lying," I said, panic rising. "You tried to kill me."
"Yes," she admitted. "Because I was ordered to."
The words shattered something inside me.
"Ordered by who?" I whispered.
Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"By the man you trusted most."
The call ended.
The silence afterward was deafening.
I turned slowly toward Lucian.
My chest felt hollow.
"You knew," I said.
Lucian didn't deny it.
"I suspected," he replied quietly. "But confirmation changes things."
I stepped back. "Tell me it wasn't you."
Lucian's eyes burned with something dangerous.
"If it had been me," he said, "you wouldn't be standing here."
That wasn't the answer I needed.
My phone vibrated again.
A message.
📍 LOCATION PIN SENT
Lucian glanced at the screen.
"She wants you to come alone," he said.
I met his gaze, fear and resolve colliding.
"And you're going to let me," I said.
Lucian smiled—slow, dark, inevitable.
"No," he said.
"I'm coming with you."