The night was heavy with silence, as if the entire mansion had been holding its breath. Shadows clung to every corner, and the scent of old wood and dust filled the air. I stood in the grand hallway, my fingers tracing the edges of the old stone walls as I tried to steady my thoughts. My mind was still reeling from the conversation with Sofia, my half-sister—an unexpected conversation, one that had opened a door I wasn't sure I wanted to walk through.
Sofia had shown up at my door like a storm, offering me an alliance. Her words had been calculated but filled with something I hadn't expected: sincerity. She wasn't just offering me her help in a vague sense—she was offering me a plan, a strategy to take down the Blackwoods once and for all. And that was a proposition I couldn't afford to ignore.
