Scarlet chains

Chapter 18---Chaos erupts

* Stepmother's House – Late Evening*

The house was silent, shadows long as the last light of day faded. Inside the stepmother's parlor, she stood by the window, stiff and tense, as three *hooded figures* materialized from the darkness like smoke.

"She's awakened," she said coldly, not turning to face them.

One of the figures hissed, "You were never meant to let it come to this."

"I did what was asked," she replied. "I kept her weak. Obedient. Powerless."

"By selling her," the second snapped. "To *Dominic* of all people."

"She's alive, isn't she?" the stepmother retorted. "And stronger than you ever imagined."

The third figure moved forward, voice eerily calm. "That strength will be your undoing. You treated her like property. But she is marked by the ancients."

"She was never supposed to survive the binding," the stepmother muttered, almost to herself. "Let alone break it."

"And now you've made her *angry*," the first figure said. "Foolish woman. The awakening is only the beginning."

The room darkened unnaturally.

The stepmother lowered her head slightly. "Tell the High Circle… I'll fix it."

"You'd better," the third figure warned. "Or when she remembers what you did… even we won't protect you."

They vanished, leaving the stepmother standing in the dark, her hands shaking ever so slightly.

---

The room was cold now—unnaturally cold. The silence pressed in like a weight, and for a long moment, the stepmother didn't move.

Her hands curled into trembling fists.

"They act like I don't know what she is," she muttered, pacing slowly. "Like I didn't feel the moment she first breathed. That power… that *curse*... it was always there."

She stopped near the fireplace, staring into the dying flames.

"I fed her. Housed her. Protected her from worse. No one thanks the cage when the beast grows too big."

Her voice dropped to a bitter whisper.

"She was always going to leave. She was always going to burn everything down. And when she does, they'll remember who raised her."

She opened a drawer from a locked cabinet, revealing a single item: a black insignia etched into a glass talisman—the mark of the Cult.

She stared at it for a long time… then slammed the drawer shut.

"Let them fear her. But they'll never know her like I do."

She turned, walking away into the dark.

---

*Dominion mansion---War room*

---

*Dominion Mansion — War Room*

Dominic's phone rang. He answered it quickly.

"Sir... s-sir... we were... b-breached—"

The guard's voice crackled, then the line went dead.

Dominic's eyes darkened. He signaled to Cayden, and the two bolted out of the room.

They rushed to the car, hearts pounding with one shared fear—Nicole.

If anything had happened to her, Nova would unleash chaos. Not just rage... but a cosmic imbalance. A threat to the very fabric of the realms.

Dominic drove like a demon. Neither he nor Cayden spoke. The silence was louder than words.

They reached the mansion.

—