~Jennifer's POV~
I used to believe loyalty was simple.
You pick a side. You stay on it. You live, or you die, for the one who saved you.
Selena saved me.
Pulled me from the depths, gave me a name, gave me purpose. When I was nothing but broken bones and bruises from a past no one dared ask about, she gave me a reason to keep breathing.
But lately…
Lately, I wasn't sure if the woman I served was still the same one who saved me.
And I wasn't sure if the woman she brought into our world—the Viper—was here to help her rise…
…or replace her.
I watched the two of them spar from shadows. Never openly. Never violently. Just glances. Questions that sounded like compliments. Challenges hidden inside smiles. Selena's patience had a pulse now, slow and dangerous. The Viper never blinked first.
Their silence said more than words ever could.
It was raining when I saw her again.
The Viper.
She stood outside the safehouse alone, face tilted to the sky, letting the water soak through her jacket. No umbrella. No coat. Just standing there, like she belonged in the storm.
I approached quietly, my boots slick on wet stone.
"You'll catch a cold," I said.
She turned to me, unbothered. "I've had worse."
I crossed my arms, unsure why I even came out. Maybe I wanted to see what made her tick. Maybe I wanted to see if she could break.
"You're good at hiding," I said.
"Old habit," she replied.
"You don't trust anyone?"
She shook her head. "I trust people. I just prepare for the moment they betray me."
We were quiet for a moment, the sound of the rain filling the space between us.
Then I asked the question that had been clawing at me for days.
"Are you planning to take her down?"
The Viper looked at me—not startled, not insulted. Just aware.
"No," she said calmly. "But I'm not going to let her chain me either."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one that's true."
I hated how much sense that made.
I hated how calm she was. How human. How terrifying.
Later that night, I sat with Selena in the strategy room. Her back was to me as she reviewed shipment intel. She'd barely spoken all day. Her silence wasn't the quiet of calm—it was the silence before a bomb goes off.
"She's lying to you," I said, the words pushing through the guilt in my chest.
Selena didn't turn.
"I know."
"Then why let her stay?"
"Because snakes don't strike until they're ready," she said. "And I want to see how deep her venom runs."
"She's gaining ground. Influence."
"She thinks she is."
I stepped forward. "If she turns on you—"
Selena finally turned to face me. Her eyes were cold. Sharp.
"Then I'll cut off her head."
There was no hesitation in her voice.
No mercy.
But the truth was… I didn't know who I feared more anymore.
Selena—the woman who taught me how to kill.
Or the Viper—the woman who didn't need to be taught.
And worst of all?
Some part of me—some traitorous, trembling part—understood the Viper. Respected her. Maybe even… admired her.
Not because I wanted her to win.
But because I knew, in another life, she could've been me.
Or I could've been her.
I found her again two nights later. In the training room, slicing a knife across a practice dummy with such brutal precision it made my skin crawl.
"You keep staring," she said without looking at me.
I stepped into the room. "Trying to figure you out."
"You won't."
"Maybe not. But I need to know if you're the kind of threat that explodes…"
I paused. "…or poisons slowly."
She finally stopped and turned, chest rising with each breath. Her eyes met mine.
"I'm the kind that waits."
Her voice was quiet. Calm.
And that scared me more than anything.
Later, alone in my room, I couldn't sleep.
The city below whispered like it always did—promises, threats, ghosts. I stared at the ceiling and wondered if I was still loyal…
…or just afraid.
Because the worst betrayal doesn't come from hate.
It comes from understanding the person you're supposed to stop.
And I was starting to understand her.
Loyalty used to feel like love.
In the early days, when Selena still smiled with something soft behind her eyes—when her laughter didn't sound like a warning. We weren't just soldiers back then. We were survivors. Sisters, in our own strange, broken way. And maybe that's why this hurts more than it should.
Because now I don't recognize either of us.
And worse—there are moments I think she doesn't either.
It was late. Past midnight. The compound had gone quiet, the type of silence that pressed in like a warning. I slipped into Selena's quarters unannounced. I always had the passcode. She never changed it.
She was awake.
Sitting by the window, robe loosely tied, legs crossed beneath her. A glass of wine balanced in one hand, her other hand twirling a silver ring between her fingers. The same ring she'd worn since the day we met.
"You can't sleep either," she said, not looking up.
I hesitated. "No."
She finally turned toward me, and for a moment, I saw it—the tired version of her. The real her. Not the Queen Bee. Just the girl who had once sobbed into my arms after her sister died in that fire.
"You're worried about her," she said.
"The Viper?" I paused. "Yes."
"I'm not."
"You should be."
Selena's mouth twitched—amusement, or maybe exhaustion. "If she tries to cut my throat, she'll find I've already slit hers."
"Don't underestimate her."
"I'm not," she said. "I'm watching."
I moved closer. "But watching isn't enough. She's already recruiting. Quietly. You know that. I know that. She's waiting for you to give her a reason."
"She already has one," Selena said. "We're both queens pretending there's room for two."
I let the silence hang between us before asking, "Then why let her stay?"
She looked at me then. Really looked.
"Because I want to see what kind of queen she thinks she can be."
That night, I dreamt of Marseille.
Not because I'd been there but because I imagined her there. The Viper. I imagined her carving her name into the underworld with steel and silence. Alone. Always alone. The dream wasn't violent. It was just… empty. Cold. Like her.
When I woke up, I hated how much of her lingered in my mind.
The next day | Lower East Corridor
I followed her.
Not on Selena's orders. Not as a mission. Just… instinct. I needed to know where the Viper went when she thought no one was watching.
She walked like she didn't care if someone followed. But I knew better. Every step was calculated. Every alley chosen. Every street passed through a test.
Eventually, she entered an old textile warehouse long since closed.
I stayed behind a parked truck, breath low, hand near my gun.
Fifteen minutes passed before I dared step closer. And when I did, I heard them.
Voices.
Three men. One woman.
"She's slipping," a man said. "The Queen. She's been distracted. Looking weak."
Another voice. Male. Sharp. "You sure this alliance is worth the risk?"
Then the Viper. Calm. Cool. I could almost see her even though I couldn't.
"She built an empire. I'm here to inherit it, not burn it."
A pause.
"But if she tries to cage me, I'll bury her."
I left before they saw me.
Back into the streets. Back into the mess I didn't know how to fix.
Later that night | Selena's quarters
"I need to tell you something," I said.
Selena looked up from her documents. She looked like a statue carved from war.
"She's holding meetings," I said. "Secret ones. With the Old Guard. And a few ghosts from the docks."
Selena didn't flinch.
"You knew?"
"I suspected."
"And you're just… letting it happen?"
Her jaw tightened.
"I want to see what she builds," Selena said.
"And then what?" I demanded. "You burn it?"
Her silence was answer enough.
I stared at her.
This wasn't the woman who saved me.
This was the woman who survived.
Alone in my room, I paced. Back and forth. My chest was tight with things I didn't have a name for.
Loyalty.
Fear.
Respect.
Desire.
The Viper wasn't like anyone we'd ever faced. She didn't want to destroy Selena. She wanted to outgrow her. She wanted to build something of her own—right next to the throne Selena bled for.
And the worst part?
I didn't know which side I was on anymore.
That same night, I ran into the Viper again.
She stood in the corridor, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
"You were at the warehouse," she said.
I stiffened. "You knew?"
"I always know."
I didn't reach for my gun.
Neither did she.
Instead, she stepped closer. One foot. Two.
"I'm not your enemy, Jennifer."
"Then what are you?"
She leaned in, eyes steady. "I'm the future. Whether you like it or not."
I didn't move.
Didn't blink.
But deep down… I knew she was right.