The warehouse smelled like blood and smoke.
Rachel stood in the middle of it all, chest rising and falling, her knuckles bruised, her hair slightly messy from the fight. The adrenaline was still in her veins like poison sweet and deadly.
Selene was on the floor.
Pinned.
Breathing hard.
But still smiling.
That smile was what made Rachel's skin crawl.
Raziel stepped forward, his gun aimed directly at Selene's forehead, his eyes colder than death.
"You should've killed me when you had the chance," Selene whispered, voice calm, almost amused.
Raziel didn't blink.
"No," he said. "I should've killed you the day you betrayed Moretti blood."
Selene laughed softly, her silver hair falling into her face like a crown made of darkness.
"You still think I betrayed him? Oh Raziel… you're still blind."
Rachel's heart twisted.
"Stop talking," Rachel snapped. "Stop trying to twist everything."
Selene's eyes flickered to her.
"Rachel Moretti," she murmured. "You really think you're safe because he kissed you? Because he saved you?"
Rachel stepped forward, rage burning.
"Don't speak to me like you own me."
Selene smiled wider.
"I don't own you," she said. "But I know your bloodline. And your bloodline… is cursed."
Raziel cocked the gun.
"Enough."
But Selene raised her head, eyes glittering.
"You won't kill me, Raziel."
Raziel's jaw clenched. "Try me."
Selene's voice dropped into something darker.
"Because if you kill me…" she whispered, "you'll never know where the real enemy is."
The air shifted.
Rachel's stomach tightened.
Raziel's eyes narrowed.
"What are you talking about?"
Selene leaned back against the cold floor like she was enjoying the moment.
"I didn't build my empire alone," she said. "I have partners. And while you were busy saving your precious heiress…"
She turned her eyes to Rachel again.
"They already found her."
Rachel froze.
"What?"
Raziel's voice snapped like a whip.
"WHO?"
Selene's lips curved slowly.
"Your mother."
Rachel's heart dropped.
Her entire body went cold like someone poured ice into her veins.
"My mother is dead," Rachel whispered.
Selene laughed again, but this time it was cruel.
"Your mother isn't dead, Rachel. She's been hiding… and she's been talking."
Rachel's voice cracked.
"No… no, you're lying."
Raziel didn't speak. But Rachel felt it.
The shift in his energy.
The slight stiffening of his shoulders.
He wasn't sure.
Selene's eyes glittered like she had won.
"You should ask Raziel what he knows," Selene murmured. "Ask him why he never let you search for her."
Rachel turned slowly to Raziel.
Her eyes demanded truth.
Raziel didn't answer immediately.
That silence felt like betrayal.
Rachel's throat tightened.
"You knew something," she said softly. "You knew… and you didn't tell me."
Raziel's eyes burned.
"I didn't want you distracted."
Rachel laughed bitterly.
"Distracted?" she repeated. "My mother is my life, Raziel!"
Selene watched them like she was watching a movie.
"I love lovers," she said. "Especially when they break."
Raziel snapped his head at Selene.
"Shut up."
But Selene's calm didn't break.
She lifted her wrist slowly.
Rachel noticed it then.
A bracelet.
A thin silver bracelet with a tiny red gem.
Rachel's eyes narrowed.
"What is that?"
Selene smiled.
"A trigger."
Raziel's eyes widened instantly.
He stepped forward
But it was too late.
Selene pressed the gem.
And the entire warehouse shook.
Rachel's eyes widened.
"What"
BOOM!
A bomb exploded outside.
Then another.
And another.
The building trembled like it was screaming.
Dust rained from the ceiling.
Raziel grabbed Rachel instantly, pulling her behind a metal crate.
"MOVE!" he roared.
Mikhail cursed loudly. "IT'S A TRAP!"
Gunfire erupted outside.
Selene's men were already attacking.
They had been waiting.
Selene's voice cut through the chaos.
"I told you," she called out, "you walked right into my throne room."
Raziel's eyes were furious.
"You planned this."
Selene stood slowly, blood on her lip, but her posture was royal.
"Yes," she whispered. "Because you're not the hunter tonight, Raziel."
She looked at Rachel.
"You're the prey."
Rachel's heart slammed against her ribs.
Men stormed in through the smoke.
Ethan fired first, dropping two.
Kai dragged Rachel backward.
"Rachel, stay close!" he shouted.
But Selene's men weren't normal.
They moved like trained assassins.
Fast. Silent. Merciless.
Rachel's eyes widened as she saw one of them raise a gun at her.
She moved before thinking.
She ducked.
She kicked the man's knee.
The gun flew.
She grabbed it.
And she shot.
The sound echoed through the warehouse.
The man dropped.
Rachel stood frozen for a second, staring at what she had done.
She had killed someone.
A real kill.
Raziel looked at her.
Something dark flashed in his eyes.
Pride.
Possession.
Desire.
But there was no time.
Another explosion hit.
The wall cracked.
The ceiling began to collapse.
Raziel grabbed Rachel's wrist.
"We're leaving NOW!"
Selene's voice echoed again.
"Oh no, Raziel."
Rachel looked up
Selene was gone.
Disappeared into smoke like a ghost.
And then it happened.
A scream.
A real scream.
Rachel spun
Mikhail was down.
Shot in the shoulder.
Ethan dragged him back.
"WE'RE LOSING THIS POSITION!" Ethan shouted.
Raziel's eyes turned lethal.
"Fall back!"
They fought their way out.
Bullets ripping through the night.
Cars burning.
Bodies falling.
Rain mixing with blood.
Rachel stumbled as Raziel pulled her through the chaos, shielding her with his own body.
They reached the convoy.
Raziel shoved her into the car.
"GO!" he shouted at the driver.
The car sped off like a bullet.
Rachel turned in the back seat, shaking, breathing hard, her hands still stained with blood.
She looked at Raziel.
He was bleeding.
A cut across his jaw.
His knuckles were red.
His eyes were a storm.
Rachel swallowed.
"She escaped."
Raziel's voice was quiet.
"She didn't escape," he said.
"She wanted us to leave."
Rachel's stomach twisted.
"She wanted us to survive?"
Raziel stared out the window.
"No," he said coldly.
"She wanted us to run."
Rachel's blood went cold.
Because Selene didn't run.
She hunted.
The mansion felt different when they returned.
Not safe.
Not warm.
Not home.
It felt like a graveyard dressed in luxury.
Rachel walked into the living room, her clothes still smelling like smoke, her hair still damp from rain and sweat.
Raziel followed behind her like a shadow.
The men were injured.
Mikhail's shoulder had been bandaged, but his face was pale with rage.
Ethan paced like a caged animal.
Kai was silent, too silent.
Leonardo sat in front of the surveillance screens, fingers flying across the keyboard.
No one spoke for a while.
The silence was heavy.
Until Rachel finally said it.
"She said my mother is alive."
The room froze.
Raziel's eyes flickered.
Leonardo stopped typing.
Ethan slowly turned his head.
Mikhail sat up straighter, pain forgotten.
Kai's jaw clenched.
Rachel looked around, her voice sharp.
"So it's true," she whispered. "All of you knew something."
Raziel's voice was calm, but it carried danger.
"We didn't know for sure."
Rachel stepped closer to him, eyes burning.
"You suspected."
Raziel didn't deny it.
Rachel's chest tightened.
"You let me believe she was dead," she said.
Raziel's gaze darkened.
"I let you believe it because if you knew she might be alive, you would chase her."
Rachel's voice cracked.
"And what's wrong with that?"
Raziel grabbed her wrist gently but firmly, pulling her closer.
"Because whoever has your mother…" he whispered, "has leverage over you."
Rachel's breath caught.
She looked into his eyes and realized something terrifying.
He wasn't hiding the truth because he didn't care.
He was hiding it because he was afraid.
Afraid of what it would do to her.
Afraid of what it would do to him.
Rachel swallowed.
"She's my mother."
Raziel's jaw tightened.
"And you're my weakness," he admitted, voice low.
The confession hit her like a bullet.
Rachel's lips parted.
Raziel leaned closer.
"I can fight armies," he whispered. "I can burn cities. I can kill without blinking."
His thumb brushed her cheek.
"But when it comes to you… I lose control."
Rachel's breath trembled.
The room was filled with danger and desire.
And then
Leonardo's voice snapped through it.
"We have a problem."
Raziel turned instantly.
"What now?"
Leonardo's face was pale.
He turned the laptop screen around.
Rachel stepped closer.
The screen showed a video file.
No timestamp.
No sender.
Just a title.
FOR THE HEIRESS.
Rachel's heart pounded.
"Play it," she whispered.
Leonardo clicked it.
The video loaded.
And Rachel's world shattered.
The screen showed a dark room.
A woman tied to a chair.
Her hair messy, face bruised, lips trembling.
But even with blood and swelling
Rachel recognized her.
Her mother.
Rachel's hand flew to her mouth.
"Oh my God…"
The woman lifted her head slowly.
Her eyes met the camera.
And she spoke.
Her voice was weak.
But clear.
"Rachel…"
Rachel gasped like she couldn't breathe.
Tears rushed down her cheeks instantly.
"That's… that's her," she whispered.
Raziel's body went rigid.
The woman continued.
"If you're seeing this… it means Selene has found me."
Rachel's stomach dropped.
Selene.
Her mother's eyes filled with tears.
"You have to listen carefully. I'm sorry for everything. I tried to protect you. I tried to hide you from that world…"
She coughed.
Blood stained her lip.
Rachel's knees weakened.
Raziel caught her instantly, holding her up.
But Rachel couldn't look away.
Her mother's voice shook.
"Raziel… if you're there…"
Raziel's eyes narrowed.
Rachel's mother continued.
"I know you promised Alessandro you would protect her."
Rachel's heart stopped.
Her mother knew Raziel.
She knew everything.
And then her mother whispered something that made everyone in the room freeze.
"Don't trust the Moretti council."
Raziel's expression darkened.
Rachel's lips trembled.
"What…?"
The woman's breathing became frantic.
"They're not loyal to you, Rachel. They never were. They want you dead."
Rachel's blood ran cold.
Her mother's eyes widened suddenly.
Like she saw someone behind the camera.
Footsteps echoed.
Slow.
Calm.
Deadly.
Selene stepped into the frame.
Perfect hair.
Perfect makeup.
Perfect smile.
Like she hadn't just caused war.
Rachel's hands shook.
Selene leaned down beside Rachel's mother, caressing her cheek like she was petting an animal.
"Oh sweetheart," Selene murmured. "You talk too much."
Rachel screamed.
"LEAVE HER!"
But she was screaming at a screen.
Selene looked into the camera.
And smiled directly at Rachel.
"Hello, my heiress," Selene said softly. "Did you miss me?"
Rachel's body trembled violently.
Raziel's grip tightened around her.
Selene's eyes flickered with amusement.
"You really are beautiful," Selene whispered. "Alessandro would've been proud."
Rachel's voice was shaking.
"Where is she?"
Selene smiled wider.
"That's not how this works," she said. "I give you a gift… and you give me something in return."
Rachel's eyes narrowed, rage replacing tears.
"What do you want?"
Selene leaned closer to the camera, voice like poison.
"I want you," she said.
Rachel froze.
Selene's eyes glittered.
"I want you to come alone. No Raziel. No guards. No tricks."
Raziel growled.
"No."
Selene ignored him, as if she could hear him through the screen.
"If you come alone… your mother lives."
Rachel's heart shattered.
Selene placed her fingers under Rachel's mother's chin.
"And if you don't…"
Selene smiled.
Rachel's mother began crying silently.
Selene's voice dropped into something crueler.
"I'll carve her open slowly and send you pieces."
Rachel screamed.
"NO!"
Raziel slammed his fist into the table so hard it cracked.
Selene's eyes flickered with satisfaction.
"One more thing," Selene said softly.
She stepped aside.
The camera angle shifted.
And Rachel saw something on the floor.
A body.
A man.
Dead.
His throat cut open.
His blood smeared across the concrete like paint.
Rachel stared in horror.
Raziel's face turned lethal.
Because Rachel recognized the man.
It was one of Raziel's allies.
One of the council members.
Selene's voice became a whisper.
"This is what happens when people choose you over me."
She leaned closer again.
"I'm not just coming for your empire, Rachel."
Her eyes locked onto the camera.
"I'm coming for your heart."
Then she smiled.
"And I'm going to make Raziel watch while I take everything."
The video cut off.
The screen went black.
Silence swallowed the room.
Rachel couldn't breathe.
Her mother was alive.
But she was being tortured.
And Selene wanted Rachel to walk into hell alone.
Rachel slowly turned to Raziel.
Her voice was broken.
"I have to go."
Raziel's eyes burned with fury.
"No."
Rachel stepped closer, tears falling.
"She'll kill her."
Raziel grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him.
"She's using your love against you," he said. "She's baiting you."
Rachel's voice shook.
"But she's my mother!"
Raziel's voice dropped into something dark.
"And you're mine."
Rachel froze.
The possessive words hit her like fire.
Raziel's eyes were dangerous.
"I will burn this world before I let you walk into Selene's hands."
Rachel whispered.
"She said come alone…"
Raziel smiled.
But it wasn't a normal smile.
It was the smile of the devil.
"Then we let her think you're alone."
Rachel's breath caught.
Raziel turned to Leonardo.
"Track the video source."
Leonardo nodded quickly.
"Already trying."
Raziel turned to Ethan.
"Mobilize everyone. No mercy."
Ethan's eyes gleamed.
"Yes boss."
Raziel turned back to Rachel.
His voice was calm.
Too calm.
"We're not rescuing your mother," he whispered.
Rachel blinked.
"What?"
Raziel leaned closer.
"We're executing Selene."
Rachel's blood turned to ice.
Because she believed him.
She knew he meant it.
Raziel kissed her forehead softly, but his eyes were still dark.
"Get ready, heiress," he murmured.
"This war ends with bodies."
Rachel swallowed.
And somewhere deep inside her…
The Moretti blood awakened fully.
She wiped her tears.
And nodded.
"Then let's end her."
But in the shadows of the mansion…
A guard suddenly stumbled into the room, pale-faced, shaking.
"Boss…"
Raziel turned sharply.
"What is it?"
The guard swallowed hard.
"There's a package outside."
Raziel's eyes narrowed.
"A package?"
The guard nodded.
"It was delivered by someone wearing black gloves."
Rachel's stomach twisted.
Raziel walked outside.
Rachel followed.
The guards opened the box slowly.
And Rachel screamed.
Inside the box…
Was a human finger.
Still wearing a wedding ring.
Her mother's wedding ring.
Rachel stumbled backward, shaking violently.
Raziel's face went blank.
That blankness was terrifying.
Because it meant he wasn't angry anymore.
He was beyond anger.
He was entering something colder.
Something demonic.
Raziel picked up the finger calmly.
Then he looked at the note inside.
He read it.
And his eyes darkened like the gates of hell.
Rachel whispered.
"What does it say?"
Raziel slowly lifted his gaze to her.
His voice was quiet.
Deadly.
"It says…"
He handed her the note.
Rachel read it.
And her blood turned cold.
"COME ALONE, HEIRESS.
OR THE NEXT DELIVERY WILL BE HER HEART."
Rachel's knees gave out.
Raziel caught her instantly.
And in that moment…
Rachel knew.
Selene wasn't just playing war.
Selene was playing torture.
And this time…
There would be no mercy.