CHAPTER 9: Seeds And Scars

Mia sat on the edge of the seat, a porcelain teacup held in her small hands. The gentle clink of china was the only sound that danced in the breeze. Her legs swung slowly, her posture calm, relaxed.

But her mind—it was anything but.

Her eyes wandered, half-lidded in thought, gaze drifting over the well-manicured hedges and distant flowers, but seeing none of them. Her body was still, but her mind was running again. Wild. Sharp. Hungry.

The plan had been in motion long before she arrived here.

She had wanted revenge. Nothing more. And fate had delivered her into the home of the most powerful man in New York. Ken Rowland. A man with reach, wealth, and the kind of connections that made people disappear—or reappear—with a word.

She needed something.

No. Someone.

Selene.

She needed to find her. The real one.

But how? There were no pictures. No trails. Not even whispers.

So, she'd made one.

She needed bait. A loud enough noise to make the woman look up from whatever corner of the world she was watching from. A rumor impossible to ignore.

The story of a surviving clan member, a child prodigy at that, taken in by Ken Rowland himself.

A potential threat.

An unknown variable.

A risk that needed to be silenced personally, if Selene truly was the kind of woman Mia believed her to be. Cold. Strategic. Brutal. She wouldn't trust that to subordinates. Not after the last failure.

That was why Mia let the bodyguard tail her.

She had seen him the moment he started watching. The one tied to Nora. Too clumsy to be anything but a plant. His presence was confirmation, they suspected her. This was perfect

And she made sure they didn't stop.

She let him follow her. Study her. She played her part perfectly, curious, innocent, quiet, but she evaded him every time he was close enough, feeding the suspicion. then, when she thought the seed was already planted she let him see her forearm. since Sebastian would have found him if he stayed long enough, that would ruin her plan anyway. It was Empty. No markings. No tattoo. A whisper of innocence, just enough to throw off real alarm.

But not enough to erase the doubt.

She wanted that seed to remain.

Because the truth was darker. The truth was older.

She did have the tattoo. But not where anyone would think to look.

Unknown to the world, there was a hidden tier of prodigies, monsters in the making, who bore their rank not in ink, but in scar. Burned into the base of their necks. Permanent. Agonizing. Hidden. Reserved only for the highest class of the clan's chosen.

Even the organization didn't know about it. The rankings weren't theirs to give. They only saw the surface—marked arms, hands, and wrists—tools bred for use and disposal. Fodder.

But she wasn't one of them.

She was raised differently. Not to obey. Not to die.

To devour.

Her brother had his mark on his palm. Recognized as a rare genius, hailed as the pinnacle of martial perfection. They praised him. Feared him.

But his physique, impressive as it was, was a ranks lower than hers. Most martial artist would call it a terrible physic, even maybe weak, but they were wrong. Hers was able to accumulate any and all techniques, even the ones that were dangerous to train. The silent ghoul was one of many. Her muscle arrangement, was compressed and had some uneven strands, too small to notice. to the untrained eye, it seemed frail, but it was the greatest human weapon, with unimaginable potential, strength and limitless growth, a secret not known by many.

A chill traced her spine. She was coming. More like, she was calling her.

Selene.

She could feel it in the shift of the air. The way the world held its breath. Her plan was reaching its peak. The bodyguard would leak the information. Of course he would. He couldn't help it. A whisper to Nora, no maybe in the underworld ,that was guaranteed to fan out

And through them… to Selene.

Her hand trembled against the cup.

Not from fear.

From rage.

Selene would come. Mia had lured her here with precision. And when she did—

A soft hand rested gently atop hers.

Mia looked up.

Selene—the maid—was seated beside her, eyes gentle, voice low.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

There was silence.

Then Mia spoke, eyes forward, tone steady.

"Lilith."

Selene blinked. "Lilith?"

"My true name," Mia said quietly. "Lilith Vale."

She sipped her tea again, as if it cost her nothing.

Selene studied her, but the girl didn't elaborate.

Then: "Should I call you that, then?"

Mia shook her head.

"No. I'll be eliminating it shortly. Mia is just fine."

Selene froze for a moment. A strange understanding passed through her.

A name cant be eliminated, this was clearly a promise rather, from her tone…, was she after her, Selene? Her aim was cutting away the last thread that tied her to her old life. The past and Her origin.

And ` shortly`—she said it like something already underway.

Selene stared down at the girl.

When did she do it?

She'd been observing her for days. All she ever did was explore the halls, wander the gardens, sit in eerie silence as if learning how to breathe.no it cant be, maybe she was overthinking things and her word arrangement was a mistake. After all, the girl was five…

She was five.

Right?

Selene's jaw tensed.

Honestly… she wasn't sure anymore.