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The sun was dipping low over Riverview Road, casting long, jagged shadows across the park. The air, once filled with the scent of damp grass and pine, now reeked of acrid gunpowder.
Gabriella stood frozen by the stone picnic table, her breath hitching in her throat. She was dressed in a sleek, charcoal-grey jogging suit that clung to her frame, the muted color blending into the twilight. Beside her stood Felix. The usual warmth she felt around him had evaporated. He looked lethal in his all-black athletic gear, the dark fabric making his pale, sharp features pop.
In his hand, the metal of a handgun glinted coldly.
"Are you okay?" Felix asked, his voice a low vibration. His eyes, dark and intense, scanned her body for injuries, his gaze lingering on her face with a mixture of raw protectiveness and something much more shadowed.
"Who... who are you?" Gabriella's voice was a ghost of itself—shocked, cold, and trembling.
Felix didn't answer immediately. He locked eyes with her, his jaw tight. He bit his lower lip, a brief flash of internal conflict crossing his face before his expression turned to stone.
"Why are you carrying a gun with you?" she pressed, her heart hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird.
"As a businessman, I have to. For protection," Felix replied. The lie tasted metallic in the air.
"Who was that?" she gestured toward the direction of the gunshot.
"An old client," he said, his voice dropping an octave.
Gabriella's eyes narrowed. The math wasn't adding up. Normal businessmen didn't have "old clients" who prompted mid-jog shootouts. Felix glanced down at his sleek smartwatch, the blue light illuminating the tension in his face.
"I have to go," he muttered. Without another word, he turned and rushed toward the curb, sliding into his car with practiced, predatory grace.
Gabriella watched the taillights fade, her pulse still racing. Who is he actually? she wondered, a chill creeping under her skin. I am sure he isn't an ordinary businessman.
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The Halls of Brighton Wisdom
The next morning, the atmosphere at Brighton Wisdom School was suffocating. Gabriella stepped out of her luxury sedan, the door closing with a heavy thud. She looked every bit the elite student in her dark green blazer and matching pleated skirt, her crisp white shirt buttoned to the throat. She took a deep, steadying breath, trying to settle the lingering adrenaline from the night before.
As she entered the marble-floored hallway, the silence followed her.
Near the lockers, Selina stiffened. When Gabriella looked her way, Selina pointedly turned her face away, her knuckles white as she gripped her bag. Gabriella didn't flinch; she let a cold, mocking smile touch her lips.
"I can see her smile," Selina whispered through gritted teeth. "I am damn sure she is behind Raina getting arrested."
Elisabeth stood behind her, casually inspecting her perfectly manicured nails. "You're right," she drawled. "Who else could it be?"
Selina turned back, her eyes burning with a hatred so intense it looked like she wanted to tear Gabriella into pieces. Gabriella simply ignored them, her heels clicking rhythmically against the floor as she headed for the stairs.
On the second floor, the air was thick with gossip. Groups of students were huddled together, their voices a low, frantic murmur.
"Raina got arrested yesterday..." "She killed Kevin? I thought it was suicide!" "No, she confessed on a livestream. She literally told the whole world." "We should be happy. Our bully is finally gone."
Gabriella felt a small, private sense of victory. A tiny smile played on her lips. But then, a final comment reached her ears.
"But... the rest of the Silverstorm members are still here," a girl whispered, looking over her shoulder in terror. "They won't leave us alone ."
Gabriella stopped dead in her tracks. The tiny spark of triumph vanished, replaced by a heavy, protective weight in her chest. Her thoughts drifted to those she had promised to shield.
I won't let anything happen to you, she vowed silently.
------
Gabriella continued walking, her heels clicking against the stone path that led toward the canteen. This area was tucked away under a massive concrete overridge, where the shadows were deep and the air felt perpetually chilled.
She stopped and tilted her head back, staring up at the upper bridge. A bitter memory surfaced. Months ago, she had stood in this exact spot and delivered a stinging slap to Harry's face. At the time, she thought she was alone. Now, she knew better.
So, he watched me from up there, she thought, a chill running down her spine. Jake saw everything.
She scoffed to herself, turning to leave, but her heart skipped a beat. Standing right there, blocking her path, was Jake. Her ex-boyfriend looked as striking as ever, but his eyes were like flint.
"Are you enjoying now?" Jake asked, leaning closer until she could smell the faint scent of his cologne and tobacco. "Because you trapped Raina in your little plan?"
Gabriella didn't flinch. She met his gaze with a cold, triumphant smile. "Of course."
Jake's face hardened, his handsome features twisting into a mask of ice. "You have no idea what you've done. You're going to face the after-effects. You don't know Raina's mother... she isn't someone you want as an enemy."
He pulled a cigarette from his pocket, placed it between his lips, and lit it, exhaling a cloud of grey smoke into the space between them.
"Are you here to terrify me, Jake?" Gabriella asked boldly. She leaned in even closer, her voice a dangerous whisper. "Because if you are, you failed. I'm not afraid."
Before he could react, she reached up and snatched the lit cigarette right from his lips. Jake's eyes widened in pure shock. She dropped it onto the pavement and ground it into the dust with her shoe.
"I don't like smokers," she whispered, arching an eyebrow.
She walked past him, her shoulder brushing his. Jake stood frozen, watching her retreat. A dark, predatory look settled in his eyes as he scoffed.
"You think you've finished your revenge, Gabriella?" he muttered to the empty air. "No. You just started a brand new one."
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The Falling Empire
By afternoon, the weight of Raina's arrest had shattered the social hierarchy. Near the courtyard, Selina was huddled with Han, her eyes red from crying.
"Han, I want to visit Raina," Selina pleaded, her voice breaking.
Han shook his head, looking defeated. "Her own mother isn't even allowed to see her yet. My father tried to pull some strings, but they denied him. The evidence is too heavy."
Selina let out a sob. "I can't believe she's actually in jail."
Han pulled her into a hug, resting his chin on her head. "It's a shock for all of us."
Suddenly, Ronnie and Lara approached. Ronnie looked frantic, rushing toward them so quickly that Selina and Han broke their embrace.
"Did you guys get any news?" Ronnie asked breathlessly. "Is there any way she can get bail?"
Selina's grief instantly turned to rage. She pulled away from Han, her eyes flashing. "You? How can you act like you care? Weren't you the one who cut off Raina's friendship for this girl?" She pointed a trembling, accusatory finger at Lara.
Lara stood perfectly still, her expression unreadable.
"Selina, don't bring Lara into this," Ronnie snapped, his voice rising.
"Leave it," Han sighed, trying to keep the peace. "Ronnie is as upset as we are."
Selina scoffed and turned her back on them, refusing to even look at the "traitors."
Lara finally spoke, her voice gentle and soft. "Is there any update at all?"
"No," Han replied. "The case is too strong. Even her mother is being kept away."
Ronnie looked down, his face etched with worry. But beside him, hidden from the others' view, a tiny, sharp smile ghosted across Lara's lips. Just as quickly as it appeared, she wiped it away, replacing it with a mask of concern.
The Silverstorm members were falling apart—but the real predator was still hiding in plain sight.
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The walls of the Blackwood Penitentiary didn't just hold prisoners; they held a suffocating, metallic silence that smelled of bleach and old regrets. Bianca stepped through the heavy steel doors, her heels clicking sharply against the cold concrete—a rhythmic, predatory sound that didn't match the tremor in her soul.
She wore a structured, obsidian-black wool coat, buttoned to the chin, hiding the fact that her heart was hammering against her ribs like a trapped bird. When she finally reached the visitor's partition, her breath hitched.
Behind the scratched plexiglass and rusted iron grills sat Raina. The girl who used to wear silk and sunlight was now draped in a coarse, oversized orange jumpsuit that swallowed her thin frame. Her hair, once perfectly styled, was a tangled mess of dark waves.
Bianca's eyes turned a fierce, burning red. Her voice came out low, vibrating with a mixture of agony and ice.
"Why did you do that?"
Raina stayed silent. Her face was a mask of marble, devoid of any spark, until she looked up. Seeing her mother, Raina's own eyes flushed crimson.
"Sorry, Mom," Raina whispered, her voice cracking. "I couldn't make my promise to you. I can't fulfill your expectations." A single, crystalline tear escaped, carving a path through the dust on her cheek. "I can't become like you."
Bianca's knuckles turned white as she tightened her grip on the cold jail grill.
"RAINA!" she shouted, the sound echoing off the damp walls.
Raina flinched, shocked. Then, Bianca's tone shifted. It dropped to a gentle, desperate murmur—a voice Raina had never heard in all her years of royal upbringing.
"I know my daughter," Bianca whispered. "She isn't easily broken. She won't be. Tell me... why did you confess on that livestream? Why did you tell the world you did it?"
Raina scoffed, a hollow, jagged sound. "Because I am the one who killed my Kevin."
"The past is dead, Raina! It can't touch the future!" Bianca hissed. "I know it wasn't you. Someone broke you. Who was it?"
"It doesn't matter, Mom. Leave it. I'll take the punishment."Raina replied.
Bianca let out a cold, pained chuckle. "So, you're just going to leave me? After your father... after your sister... I only have you left. Are you going to abandon your mother too?"
"Stop, Mom!" Raina sobbed.
The dam finally broke. Raina leaned into the glass and whispered the truth—the names, the threats, the shadow that had been looming over them. Bianca listened, her face turning into a mask of stone.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Bianca asked softly. "You wouldn't be in this cage."
Raina gave a bitter, watery smile. "You always told me... a leader handles everything herself. That a ruler of the Royal Empire stands alone. Right, Mom?"
Bianca flinched. Her own words were a poison she had fed her child. She smiled through the pain, her eyes glistening. "I was wrong. You're my daughter first. You don't have to suffocate anymore."
Bianca leaned closer, her gaze pinning Raina to the spot. "Listen to me. If you won't listen to your mother, listen to Kevin. Remember his last words? He wanted you to live. He wanted you happy."
Raina nodded slowly, a spark of resolve finally flickering in her dull eyes.
"In court, you say exactly what I told you," Bianca commanded, her voice regaining its iron authority. "Leave the rest to me. I will handle it."
Raina nodded one last time as the guard signaled the end of the visit. Bianca turned and walked toward the exit, her coat billowing behind her like a shroud. As she stepped out into the biting evening air, she looked at the horizon with eyes that promised fire.
She leaned into the wind and whispered a name like a curse:
"I won't leave you, Gabriella. I'm coming for you."
------
Later that evening, Gabriella stood outside Brighton Wisdom. Her luxury car was nowhere to be found, and her driver wasn't answering.
The roar of a motorcycle engine broke the silence. Ajax pulled up, a smirk playing on his lips. He looked rugged and effortless on his bike. "Need a lift?"
Gabriella smiled and hopped on, the wind whipping through her hair as they sped toward her mansion.
"How long were you friends with Kevin?" she asked over the roar of the engine.
"Two years," Ajax yelled back. "He was a good person. I warned him about Raina, but he wouldn't listen."
Few minutes later.When they reached the gates of her massive estate, Gabriella handed him his helmet. "Aren't you afraid Lara will be angry that you're with me?" she mocked playfully.
Ajax chuckled. "I told her you're an important friend. To me, you're as important as Kevin was."
Gabriella's eyes softened. "Thanks, Ajax. For everything. I couldn't have finished my revenge without you."
"My pleasure," Ajax smirked, his eyes dark. "We have the same goal, after all."
-----
Gabriella walked into her home, expecting the usual quiet luxury. Instead, she found her mother, Roselette, surrounded by business partners. The air was thick with panic.
"Where is Frederick?" Roselette was asking, her voice trembling. "He said he was bringing you all for dinner after the board meeting."
The partners looked at the floor, unable to meet her eyes. "Don't panic, Roselette... we tried our best, but..."
"But what?"
"Frederick was arrested. Right in the middle of the meeting. For money laundering."
The world seemed to tilt. Gabriella froze in the doorway, her heart stopping. Roselette swayed, nearly fainting, as Gabriella rushed to catch her.
On the massive TV in the living room, the news flashed a headline that sent a chill through the house: "HEAD OF GABRIELLA GROUP ARRESTED."
Gabriella stared at the screen, a single, hot tear rolling down her face. Her father was gone. Her protection was gone.
Miles away, in a darkened room, Bianca watched the same news report. The glow of the screen reflected in her cold, predatory eyes. She took a slow sip of her drink and whispered to the shadows:
"Wait, Gabriella... you have to witness much more. You messed with the wrong person."
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To be Continued.....
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