The sports car tore through Eldoria's neon-lit streets, its engine a low growl beneath the weight of revelations. Alex sat in the back, his bloodied hands steady, his blue eyes fixed on Elena. Her auburn hair caught the city lights, but her face was taut with guilt.
"I'm not mad," Alex said, his voice calm but firm. "But I wish you'd told me, Elena. All of it. The Viper, the kills, the life you left. I deserved to know."
Elena's emerald eyes shimmered with unshed tears. "I wanted to protect you. You're my everything, Alex. I thought if I buried it, we could be normal. I was wrong."
Before Alex could respond, Sophia cut in from the driver's seat, her tone light but probing. "Hold up, champ. That fight back there—clean cuts, no hesitation. Was that your first time killing?"
Alex went quiet, his jaw tightening. The silence stretched, heavy. Finally, he spoke, his voice low. "No."
Sophia's lips curled into a grin, her eyes flicking to him in the rearview mirror. "Well, damn. Elena, you picked a good one."
Elena ignored her, reaching for Alex's hand. "The twins—Sable Sisters—are involved. That's bad news. They're relentless, as skilled as I was in my prime. If they're after us, we're in deep."
Sophia nodded, her grip tightening on the wheel. "Oh, I remember them. Prague, right? We took them on together. Barely walked away. Mara and Lila—they don't stop."
Alex listened, his mind racing. "Who are they? What do they want?"
Elena sighed. "Mara and Lila Sable. Twin assassins. They hate me—professional rivalry turned personal. They want me dead to prove they're the best. And now they know about you, you're a target too."
Alex's eyes narrowed. "Why me?"
"Because you're my weakness," Elena admitted, her voice breaking. "And they'll use you to break me."
Sophia pulled into an industrial district, stopping at a nondescript warehouse. "Safehouse. Let's move."