JASMINE'S POV
By sunset, I had sifted through every document I could get my hands on. Each one revealed a part of the puzzle Vale had put together while I was away. Every email and every hint of a deal made without my knowledge felt like a personal betrayal, marked in both ink and ambition.
And the only thing louder than the betrayal was the silence from the people I thought I could trust.
I stood in the middle of the office, the city's lights casting long shadows across the floor, and closed my eyes, letting the ache settle into my ribs like old bones, heavy and unyielding.
"Are we doing this alone?" I asked, my voice soft, almost lost in the quiet.
Lyra stirred, her presence warm, and fierce, like a spark in the dark. "We were born alone."
"Then let's be dangerous."
She grinned, wild and full of defiance. I couldn't help but smile back, feeling a sense of power returning to me—something I had nearly lost.
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