📖 WAN EMPIRE
The bell rang sharply across WAN EMPIRE grounds.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Everyone knew what it meant.
Curly felt her stomach twist as Sara hurried into the slave house, her face pale.
"Everyone outside. Now," Sara said in a low voice. "Heads down. No questions."
The girls obeyed immediately.
Curly followed, her heart pounding as they lined up in the open courtyard. The air was heavy, suffocating. Armed guards surrounded the space, standing stiff and silent.
Something was wrong.
Lady Anna emerged moments later, dressed in black.
Her presence alone was enough to make the ground feel colder.
"A mistake was made," she said calmly, her voice carrying effortlessly across the courtyard.
No one moved.
"A very costly mistake."
Curly swallowed hard.
"In WAN EMPIRE," Lady Anna continued, "failure is not tolerated."
She lifted her hand.
Two guards dragged a man forward — one of the lower-ranking operatives. His face was bruised, fear written clearly in his eyes.
"I didn't mean to—" he began.
The sound of a gunshot cut him off.
Curly flinched violently.
Angela grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly as the body fell to the ground.
Lady Anna didn't even blink.
"Let this be a reminder," she said coldly. "Loyalty is life. Mistakes are death."
She turned and walked away.
The guards dismissed the gathering as if nothing had happened.
Curly stood frozen, her legs trembling.
This place isn't just dangerous… it's merciless.
---
DANGER'S POV
Danger watched from the shadows, fists clenched.
That man's blood wasn't just on Lady Anna's hands.
It was on his.
If I had been in charge…
His jaw tightened.
Failure was weakness. And weakness had a price.
"I won't be weak again," he muttered.
---
STORM'S POV
Storm stood beside Rhoda near the armory.
"That execution was unnecessary," Rhoda said quietly.
"It was intentional," Storm replied. "Fear keeps control."
"And fear breeds rebellion."
Storm didn't answer.
His eyes followed the slaves being escorted back inside.
One face lingered longer than the rest.
Curly.
She hadn't screamed.
She hadn't cried.
She had simply stood there, pale but unbroken.
Storm frowned slightly.
---
SLAVE HOUSE — NIGHT
Curly sat on her bed, hands shaking.
The image of the man falling replayed endlessly in her mind.
"I want to leave," she whispered.
Angela hugged her tightly. "There is no leaving."
Sara stood near the door, watching quietly.
"Listen to me," Sara said softly. "You survived today. That matters."
Curly nodded weakly.
"But survival here means obedience," Sara added. "And invisibility."
Curly lay down, staring into the darkness.
She didn't know why — but she felt like someone had been watching her.
And that frightened her more than the gunshot ever could.
---
LOS EMPIRE — SAME NIGHT
Sam approached the man sitting at the head of the table.
"WAN EMPIRE made an example today," Sam reported.
The man smiled faintly. "Good."
"Why good?"
"Because fear makes cracks," he replied. "And cracks are where empires fall."
He leaned back slowly.
"Prepare the next move."