The sharp smell of disinfectant clung to the air.
Machines beeped in a steady rhythm beside the bed, but to Arora it sounded like a countdown — each pulse a reminder of something she couldn't undo.
Kelvin lay still, the faint glow of the monitor brushing against his pale face. He looked peaceful — too peaceful — like he'd stepped out of the chaos she'd dragged him into and found refuge somewhere far away.
Arora stood frozen at the foot of the bed.
For the first time in years, the Black Rose didn't know what to do.
The nurse's words replayed in her head, low and heavy.
> "He's been like this for months, ma'am. The trauma repeats. He only responds to one person — Doctor Jennie."
Arora's heart skipped a beat.
Jennie.
The same woman she'd come to interrogate today.
The same woman she'd discovered, only yesterday, had been planted by someone to keep an eye on her brother.
Her jaw clenched until it ached.
How did I not see it sooner?
She was supposed to know everything that touched her brother's life. Every threat. Every shadow. Every person pretending to care.
But she didn't.
She'd been too busy chasing ghosts — chasing revenge.
Guilt crept up her throat like smoke.
Did I push him too hard just to feed my own rage? Did I forget that he needed me more than I needed vengeance?
She took a slow step closer to the bed. The faint hiss of the oxygen line was the only reply she got.
Kelvin's fingers twitched slightly — as if trying to reach for something in a dream.
Her throat burned.
She turned away before her control slipped.
The hallway outside was cold, washed in the pale blue of early dawn. Rain streaked against the tall windows, tracing silver trails down the glass.
She stepped out into it, the chill soaking her hair and coat in seconds.
Her lighter clicked once, twice — a tiny spark against the rain — before the cigarette caught flame.
The first inhale burned her lungs, grounding her.
"This was supposed to be revenge," she muttered under her breath, watching the smoke vanish into the storm. "For our parents. For what she did."
Her voice cracked on the last word.
"Kelvin was my only family left…"
The thought tore through her like glass.
---
She remembered the last time she'd seen him — months ago, when he came to visit her at headquarters.
He had stood there awkwardly, looking so out of place among the steel walls and armed men.
She hadn't even looked at him.
Was it guilt?
No.
It was fear.
She had been afraid that if she met his eyes, she would break — that she would crumble right there and cry on her older brother's shoulder like she used to as a child.
But that shoulder belonged to a world too soft for hers now.
The empire she built would crush him if she ever let him step inside it.
So she'd stood there, cold and unyielding, pretending not to care.
Even when his voice had trembled as he said,
> "Ro, please… come home. You don't have to keep doing this."
She had turned away, because she couldn't afford to let him see how much she wanted to say yes.
He'd left without another word.
And she'd told herself it was for his safety — that she was protecting him by keeping him away.
But deep down, she knew the truth.
She was just too proud to admit that the girl who once followed her brother everywhere was long gone.
---
Arora dropped the cigarette into a puddle and watched it hiss out.
The smoke dissolved into the rain, leaving only the faint scent of burnt paper behind.
Her eyes hardened.
"Today's mission was supposed to be simple," she said quietly, as if Kelvin could hear her through the walls.
"Jennie was part of your plan, remember? To bait out the people watching you. And yet, I walked right into their trap."
Her lips twisted in bitterness. "Everything went wrong. Even that woman who showed up pretending to be pregnant — that wasn't part of anyone's plan."
The rain drummed harder. The cigarette ember flickered out completely.
She pressed her palm against the cold glass, staring at her reflection — the makeup smudged, the eyes tired, the queen stripped bare.
"For six months I've been chasing her," she whispered. "The woman who destroyed everything. The one who killed them."
Six months of traveling across the country, following rumors, bribes, whispers — all leading nowhere.
Six months of building a web of informants, false leads, and sleepless nights.
And now, she had returned only to find the one person she swore to protect — broken.
Her voice was barely audible now.
"I should've been here, Kelvin."
The rain swallowed her words.
She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, forcing her heart to quiet.
When she opened them again, the softness was gone.
The Black Rose had returned — and she wasn't done yet.
---
To be continued…