Alyssa’s POV
“Stay with me, Ethan.”
My voice was barely above a whisper as I sat beside the bed, gripping his hand so tightly my knuckles ached. His skin had lost that deathly pallor, but he was still frighteningly pale, his breathing slow and shallow. The antidote was working, but I couldn’t shake the fear that it wasn’t enough.
Leon and Isabella hovered nearby, both tense, both watching me as if I might shatter at any second. Maybe I would. But not now. Not yet.
Ethan shifted slightly, his eyelids fluttering. My pulse jumped.
“Come on, Ethan,” I urged. “Open your eyes.”
A long, agonizing pause.
Then, a low groan escaped his lips. His fingers twitched weakly in my grasp. And finally-finally-his eyes opened.
It wasn’t much. Just a small crack of dark lashes, the faintest movement. But it was enough.
Relief crashed into me so hard I almost lost my breath.
“Hey,” I breathed, brushing damp hair back from his forehead. “You scared the hell out of me.”
Ethan’s gaze was unfocused, hazy with pain, but his lips quirked ever so slightly. “Not… my intention.”
I let out a shaky laugh. “Well, you have a shitty way of proving it.”
He tried to move, but I pressed a hand against his chest. “Don’t. You need to rest.”
His throat bobbed as he swallowed. “The Circle…?”
“Still ours,” I said firmly. “For now.”
Ethan exhaled, his muscles relaxing beneath my touch. But I wasn’t fooled. This wasn’t over.
Far from it.
And we all knew it.
Ethan fell back into a light, uneasy sleep, and for the first time in hours, I let myself breathe. Just a little.
Leon slumped into a chair across from me, rubbing a hand down his face. “That was too fucking close.”
“Tell me about it,” Isabella muttered, pacing the room. “We almost lost him.”
I dragged a hand through my hair, exhaling sharply. “We didn’t. That’s what matters.”
“Yeah?” Isabella shot me a look. “And what about the mastermind behind all this? We still don’t know who the hell they are, and I don’t like that. We’re blind.”
She wasn’t wrong.
Whoever was pulling the strings had been methodical. Smart. They’d orchestrated everything-the attacks, the betrayals, the near-collapse of the Circle. And now, they were in the shadows, waiting for the right moment to strike.
I wasn’t about to give them that chance.
I turned to Leon. “What did we get from Luca before he bled out?”
Leon’s mouth pressed into a thin line. “Not much. He didn’t know the real name of the person pulling the strings. Just that they’ve been around for years, watching, waiting. They had their hands in Xavier’s operations long before you took over.”
A chill crawled down my spine.
Long before I took over.
That meant this wasn’t just about me. This was about the Circle itself.
And whoever this was… they weren’t after revenge.
They were after control.
Isabella crossed her arms. “So what now? We wait for them to make their move?”
“Fuck no.” I stood, rolling my shoulders. “We find them first.”
I was about to call in every contact I had when my phone buzzed.
I pulled it out, expecting an update from one of our teams.
Instead, my blood turned to ice.
Unknown Number: If you want to see your mother alive, you’ll surrender the Circle. No tricks. No games. You have 24 hours.
For a second, I forgot how to breathe.
Then I forced myself to look at the attached image.
My mother. Bound, gagged, her eyes wild with fear.
No.
No, no, no.
A storm of rage and terror surged through me, my heartbeat a deafening roar in my ears.
Leon saw my expression and shot to his feet. “What is it?”
I couldn’t speak. Couldn’t think.
Isabella strode over, looking at my phone. She sucked in a sharp breath. “Shit.”
Leon took one glance at the screen and cursed under his breath.
“That’s your mother?” Isabella asked.
I swallowed hard, my voice like steel. “Yes.”
The air in the room shifted.
Ethan stirred, his voice hoarse. “Alyssa…?”
I turned to him. His eyes were barely open, but I saw it-the sharp awareness cutting through the pain. He knew something was wrong.
I crouched beside him, gripping his hand. “It’s my mother,” I said quietly. “They have her.”
His fingers tightened weakly around mine. “Who?”
I hesitated. “I don’t know. But they want the Circle.”
Ethan’s jaw clenched. “Then you can’t give it to them.”
The words sent a dagger straight through my chest.
Because he was right.
If I surrendered the Circle, everything we fought for-everything Ethan nearly died for-would be gone. And the people behind this? They wouldn’t stop.
But if I didn’t…
I closed my eyes, inhaling slowly.
This was a game of power. A test.
And I never failed a test.
Leon ran a hand through his hair, exhaling sharply. “Okay. Let’s be smart about this. They gave you 24 hours. That means they’re expecting you to sweat it out, panic. They want you desperate.”
Isabella nodded. “Which means we have time to move first. Track the signal. Find where they’re keeping her.”
I clenched my jaw. “And if we can’t find her in time?”
No one spoke.
Because we all knew what that meant.
Leon broke the silence first. “Then we create a different kind of leverage.”
I met his gaze, my mind already racing ahead. “You’re talking about making them think they’ve won.”
“Exactly,” Leon said. “We make them think you’re surrendering the Circle. Draw them out.”
Isabella smirked. “And then we turn the tables.”
It was risky.
Dangerous.
And exactly the kind of move I needed to make.
I looked back at Ethan. His eyes were locked onto mine, a silent message passing between us.
“Do what you have to do. Just survive.”
I exhaled.
Then I nodded.
“Let’s do it.”