I thought I was prepared for anything.
But nothing could've prepared me for what I found in that video.
Leo's voice echoed from the recording, trembling and almost broken.
"I'm sorry, Nyra… if you ever see this, it means I failed. Again."
My chest tightened. The video had been hidden inside Meher's necklace, a mechanism so carefully planted that even I missed it until today.
The screen flickered again. Leo, bloody and bruised, chained to a rusted metal chair. Behind him stood a man with half his face burnt, a sickening grin on his lips.
Kray.
Leo continued, "He's not who you think he is. Ravian isn't the mastermind. Kray is. He manipulated everything—even me. And Aarav… I—I don't even know if he's my son anymore."
My blood turned cold.
This truth wasn't just a revelation. It was a weapon.
Everything made sense now. The murders, the shifting allegiances, the way Ravian seemed almost too willing to play villain. It was all a carefully crafted illusion while Kray pulled the strings from the shadows.
The door creaked behind me.
I turned slowly, pulse racing.
Celeste stood there, her eyes bloodshot. "You found it."
"You knew?" I asked, barely managing to keep my voice steady.
"I suspected. But I didn't want to believe it."
Tears welled in her eyes. "Leo didn't just die. He was sacrificed."
The room felt smaller, the air heavier.
Celeste took a shaky breath. "There's more, Nyra. Kray's planning something. And it involves your child."
My hand instinctively fell on my stomach.
Celeste handed me a crumpled envelope. Inside were photos—me, asleep. My medical reports. The exact number of weeks into my pregnancy.
He knew.
A chilling realization settled in. He had been watching me this whole time.
My scream broke through the silence of the room.
Not out of fear.
But rage.
If Kray wanted a war— He was going to get one.
And I would burn everything he built.
Even if it meant becoming the monster I once feared.
To be continued...