Kaliah sat on the edge of her bed, the faint glow of the city lights filtering through the blinds and casting long shadows across the room. The quiet hum of traffic below was a distant reminder of life continuing outside the isolation of her world. The emerald gala dress hung over the chair, replaced by a pair of sweatpants and a simple tank top. Gone was Clarke Reid, the corporate consultant, the poised figure who moved with lethal grace at the Syndicate's gala. Here, she was just Kaliah—a girl with too many scars and not enough answers.
Her phone buzzed, breaking the silence. The sound was almost jarring. She picked it up without checking the screen. "Yeah?"
"You seemed distracted tonight," Kane's voice came through, cold and clipped, like a blade dragged across steel.
Kaliah inhaled slowly, leaning back against the headboard. Her curls fell over her shoulders like a cascade of shadows. "It's under control."
"Under control isn't good enough," Kane snapped. His voice had that familiar serrated edge. "Ilian Aerion isn't some low-level thug you can charm and stab in the back. He's sharp. He'll see through you if you're not careful."
"I know what I'm doing," she said, the sharpness of her tone betraying the exhaustion she fought to hide.
"Do you?" Kane's words sliced through her composure. "Because from where I'm standing, you're letting your emotions cloud your judgment."
She closed her eyes and pressed a hand to her temple, willing the growing tension away. "I'm playing my part. He doesn't suspect anything."
"That's not the point," Kane growled, his voice low and dangerous. "The point is that you're hesitating. I raised you better than this, Kaliah."
Her jaw tightened. She swung her legs off the bed and stood, the cool floor grounding her as she paced. "You didn't raise me. You trained me. There's a difference."
The silence on the line stretched like a drawn bowstring.
"You think I took you in because I needed another weapon?" Kane's voice softened, but each word still struck like a whip. "I saved you, Kaliah. You'd be dead or worse if it weren't for me."
She stopped mid-step, her fists clenched at her sides. "You didn't save me. You stole me." Her voice cracked, the weight of years pressing down on her chest. "You took a scared little girl and turned her into... into this." She gestured at the empty room as if it held all the unspoken truths she'd never said aloud. "I don't even know who I am anymore."
"You're what I made you," Kane said, his voice cold. "And that's why you'll succeed. Because I made you strong."
"Strong?" A bitter laugh escaped her as she ran a hand through her curls, gripping a handful tightly before letting go. "I'm not strong. I'm trapped. And you're the cage."
The silence that followed was thick, suffocating. When Kane finally spoke, his voice was calm but dangerous. "You don't have to like me, Kaliah. You don't even have to forgive me. But you owe me. Don't forget that."
Her hand tightened around the phone, her knuckles turning white. She ended the call without another word and tossed the phone onto the bed like it burned her. The room felt too small, the weight of Kane's control pressing down on her like iron chains.
A soft knock at the door pulled her from the storm of her thoughts. She hesitated before calling out, "It's open."
Kacey stepped inside, his bare feet padding quietly across the floor. His shirt was rumpled from sleep, and his hair stuck up slightly at the sides. The concern in his brown eyes was unmistakable. "He called, didn't he?"
Kaliah nodded and sank back onto the bed. "He always knows how to get under my skin."
"Yeah, that's his specialty," Kacey said as he sat beside her, the bed creaking slightly under his weight. "You okay?"
"Define 'okay,'" she said with a wry smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. She glanced at him, her gaze softening. "Why do we still do this, Kace? Why do we let him control us?"
Kacey let out a slow breath, his shoulders sagging. "Because walking away isn't an option." The resignation in his voice stung more than his words. "You know that as well as I do."
"But what if it was?" Her voice was barely a whisper. "What if we just... left? Disappeared?"
Kacey's expression grew distant, his jaw tightening as though he were holding back something. "And go where? Do what? We've been in this life too long, Kay. There's no out for people like us."
Kaliah leaned her head against his shoulder, the quiet vulnerability in her voice cutting through the silence. "I'm tired, Kacey. I'm tired of being his weapon. I'm tired of being... this."
He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close. His touch was warm, steady. "I know," he said softly. "But you're not just a weapon. You're more than that. You're my sister. And if there's ever a way out, we'll find it. Together."
For a moment, the weight pressing on her chest lifted, replaced by the fragile hope his words brought. She closed her eyes, letting the warmth of his presence calm her frayed nerves.
But as the room fell silent again, Kane's voice echoed in her mind, relentless and unyielding.
"You don't have to like me, Kaliah. You don't even have to forgive me. But you owe me."
Her voice broke the quiet, soft but steady. "Do you ever wonder what life would be like if he hadn't found us?"
Kacey's gaze grew distant, his lips pressing into a thin line. "Sometimes. But it doesn't matter. He did find us. And now we survive."
She pulled away slightly, searching his face for something—hope, maybe, or an answer she hadn't found yet. "What if surviving isn't enough anymore?"
Kacey's eyes met hers, filled with a quiet sadness and an unspoken understanding. "Then we figure out what is."
Kaliah nodded, feeling the fragile hope bloom again. Maybe survival wasn't the endgame. Maybe there was more. But as the night stretched on and the city lights flickered in the distance, the weight of Kane's control remained—a shadow that neither of them could escape.
She wasn't sure she'd ever be free. But for the first time in a long while, she allowed herself to believe she might.12Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpu15eacNB8
