WHISPERS IN THE DARK

LEON

The room was dimly lit, a single lamp casting shadows across the polished wood table. Leon leaned forward, eyes fixed on the blueprint spread before him. Every estate owned by Viper was marked. Every known ally, every supply chain.

He wasn't just searching anymore.

He was preparing.

Nico entered, silent as always.

"She's not safe," Leon said without looking up.

"You think Viper would hurt her?" Nico asked.

"No," Leon replied. "But the world around him will. Enemies are circling. If they find out who she is—what she means to him—they'll use her."

Nico hesitated. "She chose him, Leon."

Leon's eyes flared. "She didn't choose him. She chose guilt. Obligation. Not love."

A pause.

"Then what now?"

Leon stood. "We infiltrate. Quietly. Get someone inside the estate. I want her protected—whether she wants it or not."

AYLA

Night fell heavy and restless.

Ayla couldn't sleep.

Her thoughts spun, tangled between memory and regret. The more she tried to settle in her new life, the more her heart resisted.

Viper had been kind. Too kind. Yet something in her felt… off.

She rose and wandered into the estate's garden. The moon lit the stone path. She stood among the roses, her fingers grazing their petals. Her mother had once loved roses.

She remembered tending to them with Elara when she was little.

That version of her—the innocent girl dreaming of a safe world—felt so far away.

A twig snapped.

She turned quickly.

A figure emerged from the trees.

She gasped. "You?"

A voice whispered, "Don't be scared. I was sent by someone who loves you."

LEON'S SPY.

The woman stepped into the moonlight. Dressed in a servant's uniform, but her eyes were sharp. Calculating.

"Leon?" Ayla asked, breathless.

The spy nodded. "He's not giving up. Not ever."

Ayla's eyes filled with tears. "Tell him… I miss him."

"I will," the woman said. "But you should tell him yourself. Soon."

The spy slipped a note into Ayla's palm. Then she was gone.

Ayla looked down.

It was Leon's handwriting.

Don't forget what love feels like. I'll be there soon. – L.