~Viper's POV~
You can rule through fear. You can command through respect. But the ones who truly last? They rule through perception.
Let them see what they fear. Let them imagine what you're capable of. That's always worse than what you actually do.
That's something Selena never learned.
She burned too bright, too fast. And now? Everyone was watching, waiting for her to slip. Her allies. Her enemies. Even the people who claimed to love her. I saw it in Jennifer's eyes, the way her voice softened when she spoke of her queen. Love with a layer of fear underneath.
The kind that could be manipulated.
I moved through the Black Marble Hotel like a ghost, unseen but never unaccounted for. My name was whispered now in the same breath as Selena's. The city didn't know whether to fear me or worship me—and that was exactly the balance I wanted.
The power was shifting.
Not all at once. But gradually. Quietly.
Like venom through the bloodstream.
11:43 a.m. Eastern District
