The soft knock on my door barely registered until the maid's timid voice echoed through.
"Miss Kaylee," she said, peeking in. "Your father requests your presence in his office."
I pressed my lips into a thin line, dread twisting in my stomach. Of course he does. I smoothed my shirt, ran a hand through my hair, and headed downstairs.
The office smelled of leather and old cigars. My father sat behind his massive mahogany desk, pen in hand. When I entered, his hand stilled.
"You wanted to see me?" I asked, keeping my tone even, though my chest felt tight.
"Sit," he said.
I obeyed, crossing my arms tightly. Silence stretched, suffocating. Finally, I couldn't hold back.
"Why, Dad?" I whispered, the words sharp despite their softness. "Why did you never give me a sibling? Why did you let me grow up alone?"
His jaw clenched. The pen dropped to the desk, forgotten. He leaned back, but said nothing.
"Do you know how many nights I blamed you?" I continued, voice cracking slightly. "Do you know how many times I thought you didn't care—that you were too busy building your empire to give me the one thing I wanted most? A brother. A sister. Someone."
"Kaylee—" he started.
"No!" I snapped, standing abruptly. "Don't you dare tell me I don't understand. I understand perfectly. You chose work. You chose wealth. You chose everything but me."
Finally, his eyes met mine—raw, unguarded. "I never chose wealth over you. Never."
"Then what?" I demanded, trembling. "What could possibly justify it?"
Before he could answer, my mother entered, graceful, sorrow etched into her face.
"That reason," she said softly, "is me."
I froze. "What… what are you talking about?"
She crossed the room, cupping my face gently. "After you were born, the doctors told us I couldn't have another child. My body was too weak. Your father wanted to tell you… but I begged him not to. He chose to take your anger instead, because he would rather you hate him than pity me."
The world tilted. His coldness, the distance, the emptiness—it all made sense now.
"You were enough for us, Kaylee," my mother whispered. "You've always been enough."
I swallowed hard. Chest tight with guilt, shame, and confusion. "I… I need to shower," I muttered, leaving the office before either parent could stop me.
Hours later, the maid appeared. "Miss Kaylee, dinner is ready."
My heels clicked softly against the marble as I made my way down the long hallway. My stomach twisted—was it hunger or dread?
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Group Chat: The Survival Squad 💌
Zara: Update, princess. How's the mansion life?
Mia: I bet you're eating gold-flaked soup rn 🤭
Tiana: Or locked in your diamond cage again 😂
I rolled my eyes, smirking faintly, but my thumb hovered over the keyboard. I should ignore them. I should.
Instead, I snapped a quick picture of the dining room doors—massive, carved, looming.
Kaylee: About to go in. Pray for me.
Seconds later, the typing bubbles appeared.
Zara: …wait. Who are those shadows??
Mia: Kaylee. No. Don't play with me.
Tiana: GIRL. ARE THOSE THE KNIGHTS???
My breath caught. I glanced at the photo again—my mistake. In the glossy reflection of the polished doors, faint but unmistakable, four tall figures were inside the dining room, waiting.
Kaylee: …
Kaylee: Don't. Ask.
The dots blinked, then exploded into chaos:
Zara: YOU'RE EATING DINNER WITH THEM??
Mia: Oh my God. Oh my God.
Tiana: I'm screaming. RIP bestie 💀
I shoved my phone into my clutch, heart hammering, and walked into the dining room.
Dinner stretched out like a slow death. My mother sat beside me, graceful as always, but her eyes kept flicking toward me, concerned and observant. My father exchanged a few light words with the boys—teasing, joking—but my attention kept drifting.
"Oh, don't be surprised—I could already tell them apart," I thought to myself. "Not by their faces; those are identical. By their attitudes. Kadeem talks too much, charming like it's a reflex. Kaden can't sit still, always flicking that damn lighter. Kadin laughs low, like every word is an inside joke. And Kayden… he doesn't need words at all. His silence is the loudest thing in the room."
Kadeem leaned forward first, grin sharp. "So, Mr. McPherson… remind me again why you pulled her from Stanford? Top ten school, right? Not exactly something you walk away from."
My father's jaw ticked, but his voice stayed clipped. "Scores. She needed to focus more on her studies under my watch."
I scoffed inwardly, stabbing at my food. Scores. Right. That was his excuse. As if dragging me back here wasn't about control.
Kaden leaned back, lighter snapping open and shut, his smirk lazy. "Scores, huh?" he echoed. "Didn't know grades came with bodyguards and a new zip code."
Kadin chuckled low, eyes gleaming like he could see straight through me. "Almost makes me think there's more to it than daddy's little excuse."
Their words cut, sharp and deliberate, but I stayed silent. My grip tightened around my fork until my knuckles turned white. I wanted to tell them to fuck off, to shove the truth back in their smug faces.
But Kayden's gaze pinned me in place, burning steady across the table. It wasn't just watching—it was dissecting. Tearing me apart without lifting a finger. And suddenly, the words died in my throat.
My mother's eyes flicked between me and him, subtle but observant. She didn't say a word, but I could feel her noticing the tension, the unspoken war happening right there in the candlelight.
My father waved a dismissive hand, already bored. "Enough. She'll adjust."
The rest of the evening passed in a blur. I barely touched my food. Finally, I excused myself, claiming a headache.
After dinner, when the house quieted, I slipped outside to the garden.
The garden was quiet, bathed in silver moonlight. I walked to the farthest corner, and pulled out my phone.
I dialed a secure number, my voice low and commanding. The voice on the other end addressed me not as Kaylee, but as Blink.
"It's Blink. Status?"
The reply was curt. "Quiet. But the underworld is restless. The Knights are moving pieces."
My jaw tightened. "Let them move. They won't touch me."
I was still speaking when a shadow loomed. Then another. Then four.
I hung up and pocketed the phone, only to feel it—the shift in the air. Heavy. Charged.
My heart pounded as I turned slowly.
They were there.
Kayden. Kaden. Kadeem. Kadin.
All watching me with knowing smirks.
They moved like shadows, circling me with the same arrogant ease I'd seen at dinner. Don't be surprised—I can recognize them anywhere. Their attitudes give them away. Too identical to mistake, too sharp to ignore.
"Well, well," Kadeem said, flipping his coin with a smirk. "Number three in the underworld, hiding behind daddy's school transfer. Cute."
Kaden tilted his head. "Stanford wasn't about grades, was it? Daddy was just trying to protect his little princess after things got bloody."
Kadin's voice was calm, but it cut the deepest. "You thought you fooled everyone. But you didn't fool us."
Kayden didn't speak. He just stepped forward slightly, his gaze locking on mine. Quiet, steady… and more intense than words could ever be. My pulse jumped.
They circled me like predators, identical smirks carved into their lips.
My breath caught, but I quickly masked it with a smirk of my own. "Spying on me, boys? Not very knightly."
Kadin stepped forward, eyes softer than the rest, but no less intense. "We don't spy, Kaylee. We hunt. And tonight…" his gaze raked over me, "…we've found exactly what we've been looking for."
I clenched my fists, ready to fight or flee.
Kayden reached me first. His hand tilted my chin up with two fingers, his touch light but commanding, and before I could react, he brushed his lips against mine. Barely there. A ghost of contact. Enough to burn.
Then his thumb dragged across my lower lip, lingering like he owned it. A flicker of his tongue pressed against his cheek—his habit—before his eyes locked on mine, dark and amused.
"Blink," he murmured, voice low enough that the night itself seemed to lean in to listen. "Relax… that wasn't a kiss… yet."
He stepped back as if nothing had happened, leaving me wrecked, heart hammering, and furious that he could play me so easily while still saying almost nothing.
My heart raced, but my glare didn't waver. If the Knights thought I'd bow, they were dead wrong.
Still… deep inside, I knew everything had changed.
The Knights knew my secret.
And they never played fair.