Alyssa’s POV
The phone buzzed again, a sharp reminder that time was running out. I stared at the screen, the message from the unknown number still haunting me.
Unknown Number: You have less than 12 hours to decide. Surrender the Circle, or she dies.
The words were as cold as ice, but the threat they carried was as hot as fire. My mother. My strongest ally. My heart clenched at the thought of her, trapped, vulnerable. The fear in her eyes from the last image was burned into my mind, replaying over and over again.
I couldn’t let them take her. But I couldn’t just give up everything, either. The Circle wasn’t just a title-it was a power I had fought my entire life to control. To surrender it was to admit defeat. It was to let our enemies win.
And yet, what if that’s what they wanted?
I wasn’t stupid. I knew this was a game of manipulation. They wanted me to break. They wanted me to choose. The question was-what would I choose?
I was pacing the room, unable to stand still, my mind a whirlwind of possibilities and consequences. Ethan, still weak but alert, was watching me from the bed, his face a mixture of concern and resignation.
“Alyssa, you have to think this through,” he said, his voice strained but firm.
I stopped pacing, glancing over at him. His eyes were dark, intense-he wasn’t just speaking to me, he was trying to reach into me, to make me see the bigger picture.
“I am thinking this through, Ethan. You think I don’t understand what’s at stake here?”
“You need to understand that surrendering the Circle won’t make them go away. It will only make them stronger.” His voice was quiet, but there was no mistaking the conviction in it.
“The Circle is more than just a title to them. It’s power. And if you give it up, you’re giving them everything. They’ll come after you-after all of us-until there’s nothing left.”
I clenched my fists. “But I can’t let them hurt my mother.”
Ethan’s eyes softened, and for a moment, it felt like we were back to the quiet moments we’d shared before all this chaos. Before the war, before the betrayal. But I couldn’t stay there. I couldn’t afford to. Not now.
“I know,” he said. “But you can’t save her by sacrificing everything else. You have to find another way.”
Another way. That was what I needed. But what was it?
I moved to the window, staring out at the city. The world beyond seemed so distant, so unreachable. It was like everything was collapsing in on itself, and I was the center of it all. The weight of my choices, the pressure of everything I had to protect-it was too much.
I turned back to Ethan. “I don’t know how to do this, Ethan. I don’t know how to save both my mother and the Circle.”
His gaze softened further, and despite his weakness, he pushed himself up on the bed, wincing slightly. He was determined, stubborn. That was one of the things I loved most about him. He never gave up. Not on me. Not on anything.
“Then we figure it out,” he said, his voice low but full of resolve. “We don’t give in to them. Not yet. There’s always another way.”
I swallowed hard. “But what if there isn’t?”
Ethan didn’t answer right away. Instead, he simply watched me with those dark, knowing eyes. The silence between us stretched, but I didn’t mind. It was in the silence that I always found clarity.
Finally, he spoke. “Alyssa, you’ve been fighting for the Circle your whole life. You’ve been fighting for the power that comes with it, and the responsibility, too. You can’t give it up now. Not for them.”
I hated how right he was.
I took a deep breath. “Then we fight.”
Leon and Isabella had been quiet, observing from the sidelines. I turned to them now, my voice steady. “We need to find out more about my mother. About her history. She’s always been my rock, but if they know something I don’t… we have to be ready for that.”
Leon nodded. “I’ll look into it. There are ways to dig up information without drawing attention.”
Isabella crossed her arms, her expression unreadable. “And I’ll start making contact with the allies we still have left. We need to know what we’re walking into. If we can get ahead of them, we might still be able to turn the tables.”
I nodded in agreement. “Right. We’ll move fast. Every second counts.”
The minutes stretched into hours as we worked in a flurry of activity, gathering intel and making calls. But as the clock ticked down, the weight of my decision loomed ever larger. I was running out of time.
I couldn’t keep this up forever. Something had to give.
The call came just as I was about to give up.
It was Leon, his voice low and urgent. “Alyssa, you need to hear this.”
I pulled the phone to my ear, heart pounding. “What is it?”
“It’s your mother,” Leon said. “She’s not just an innocent bystander in all this. She’s been involved in things, big things, from the very beginning.”
I froze. “What do you mean?”
“I’m talking about the Circle’s roots, Alyssa. Your mother isn’t just a supporter. She’s been deep in this, right alongside Xavier. But there’s more-she made deals. Power plays that no one knew about. Deals that tied her to the wrong people.”
My throat constricted. This… this wasn’t what I expected. “What kind of deals?”
“She’s tied to the faction we’re up against,” Leon said, his voice tinged with disbelief. “They’re not just after you-they’ve been after her for years. She’s the one who gave them access to the Circle’s power in the first place.”
I felt the floor fall out beneath me. This couldn’t be true. My mother? The woman who had raised me, protected me, stood by me through every storm? How could she…
But then again, how could I be so sure of anything anymore?
“Are you sure?” I forced the words out, my voice trembling.
“I’m sure. The documents I found-they’re all pointing back to her. She was the one who sealed the deal with the rogue faction. She gave them what they wanted.”
I gripped the phone tighter. This couldn’t be happening. This couldn’t be true.
But as the pieces began to fall into place, I couldn’t ignore the crushing weight of reality.
My mother had betrayed me.
But why?
And more importantly-what did this mean for me?
I turned to Ethan, who had been listening in silence. His face was pale, but his eyes were sharp, calculating.
“Do you trust her?” he asked softly.
I didn’t answer right away. I didn’t know what to say.
“I don’t know,” I whispered, the words barely audible.
But the truth was staring me in the face. My mother had played a part in this, and that meant everything had just changed.
As I hung up the phone, the silence that filled the room was suffocating. Everything had changed.
My mother-my strongest ally-wasn’t who I thought she was.
And now, I had to decide if I could still trust her.
But just as that thought crossed my mind, my phone buzzed again, interrupting the moment.
I glanced down at the screen, my heart stopping.
Unknown Number: I see you’ve uncovered the truth about your mother. It’s only a matter of time before you’ll have to choose-her, or everything else. Make your decision carefully, Alyssa.
The message sent a chill down my spine.
I didn’t know what my mother’s secrets meant for our future. But one thing was clear-I had no more time.
I was running out of choices.