****
The glass-paneled doors of the mayor's luxurious office shattered into thousands of glittering shards as a figure burst through, sending startled guards scrambling. A gust of wind followed the intruder—Luna—dressed head-to-toe in black, her silver hair tied back, her eyes sharp and merciless.
Without hesitation, she moved like a shadow—smooth, precise, lethal.
The first guard lunged at her. She ducked low and drove her elbow into his ribs before flipping him over her shoulder. Another raised his weapon, but she was faster, sweeping his legs and knocking him unconscious with a strike to the neck.
Within seconds, the mayor's elite security team was down.
Silence filled the room. The only sound was the soft fluttering of curtains and the faint wheeze of the mayor's breath as he stood frozen behind his desk.
Luna walked across the plush carpet with cold purpose, stepping over the unconscious bodies. She dropped a single envelope on the mayor's polished mahogany desk.
"From Harper," she said, voice flat.
The mayor didn't move. His hands trembled slightly as he reached for the envelope. With cautious fingers, he tore it open and pulled out the letter inside.
His eyes scanned the page, each line turning his skin a shade paler. By the time he reached the final sentence, his lips parted slightly, but no words came out. His mouth went dry.
His heart pounded louder than ever, blood roaring in his ears as one thought screamed through his mind:
*She knows*.
He gripped the edges of the desk tightly, the letter slipping from his fingers like dead weight. The words burned in his brain like fire:
"I know about Elora."
That name. That secret.
Buried so deep it wasn't even in the classified archives. Not even the masked girl knew.
But Harper—she knew.
"She's bluffing," the mayor said, more to himself than to Luna. "She doesn't know anything."
Luna narrowed her eyes. "You sure about that?"
He looked at her—really looked at her—and for the first time in years, fear flickered in his eyes. He'd faced political adversaries, threats of war, revolts—but not this. Not a secret that could undo everything.
"You think crashing into my office and delivering a note changes anything?" he growled, trying to regain control. "She's still nothing. You're nothing."
Luna didn't flinch. "We're the nothing that's going to bury you."
The mayor clenched his jaw, trying to suppress the panic coiling in his gut. "Get out," he snapped.
Luna turned and began walking toward the door, now just a gaping hole of broken glass.
Before stepping out, she looked over her shoulder. "Harper says—if you ever want to see how this ends... keep watching."
Then she vanished.
The mayor sank into his chair, the echo of her words haunting him.
He reached for the fallen letter and read it again, his fingers trembling as they hovered over the name: Elora.
And for the first time in a long time, the mayor felt like he had already lost.
*I should call her*
The mayor's fingers drummed on the edge of his desk, his face unreadable as the secure call connected. On the other end, Harper answered without a greeting.
"You called."
Her voice was calm. Too calm. Like she already knew she was in control.
The mayor leaned back in his chair, schooling his expression.
"You win," he said dryly. "Tell me what you want."
There was a pause, a deliberate one. He could almost see the smirk forming on her lips.
"Nothing much," Harper replied, voice deceptively casual. "Just a promotion. A higher rank . And a pay raise. A significant one."
The mayor blinked.
That wasn't what he expected. Not threats, not public exposure. Just… this?
"That's it?" he asked, suspicious. "No exposé? No justice speech? No revenge?"
"You can't undo what's been done," Harper said on the phone. "But if I'm going to continue working, I want to be paid what I'm worth. Keep me close. Give me access. You'll sleep better at night."
The line crackled with silence.
The mayor's mind raced. She was dangerous, no doubt. But perhaps having her within his reach was smarter than keeping her out there, uncontrolled. And she hadn't revealed anything to the public yet—so maybe, just maybe, she could be tamed.
"Fine," he said at last. "It's done. You'll receive confirmation by morning."
But Harper's tone dropped, icy and sharp.
"Don't play games with me. Think about what will happen if your fake daughter knows about this."
The mayor stiffened.
"If you back out of this deal, or try anything funny, I'll burn everything down. You know what I have. You know what I can do. So let's not pretend this is a favor. It's survival."
Her words hit like bullets. Precise. Final.
The mayor let out a long breath. "Understood."
Harper chuckled softly, devoid of warmth. "Good. Now go fix your face, Mr. Mayor. You look like a man who's losing."
The call ended.
The mayor sat in the silence of his office, knowing full well—he was.
********HARPER
Luna came back in no time and Elias looked at me with expectations.
'So, what did he say?'. He asked.
'Don't worry Elias, I will be able to pay for Mom's treatment now'.
'Alright but I don't think she still wants to see you though '
'it's okay. I am not ready to face her just yet'.
Elias left soon after giving us access to the safe house. He had been building it without anyone's knowledge and that was why he rarely contributed to anything at home.
'What's next Harper? What about revenge?'
'Don't worry Luna. I'll definitely get revenge but for now, let's survive '.