Mimi_sola25

Ayla never expected the man she’d fall for—Leon—to be a cartel leader. Nor did she expect to discover that her long-lost father is Leon’s sworn enemy, Viper. Torn between love and blood, Ayla is forced to choose between the man who owns her heart and the father she never knew. But when she’s abducted by a mysterious enemy seeking revenge, Ayla becomes the center of a deadly game. In a world of betrayal, secrets, and forbidden love, her next choice could cost everything.

His forbidden flame

The factory stood on the outskirts of the city, surrounded by nothing but dry land and rusting steel. It was the perfect place for someone to disappear—and stay forgotten.

Leon stared at the grainy footage again as they drove, heart pounding. Ayla had looked calm, almost unaware. But he could see it in her eyes—the same fear she'd had the night she first ran into his arms.

"She didn't go willingly," he said coldly, gripping the steering wheel harder. "Whoever took her wanted us to know they could. That they're watching."

Beside him, Nico loaded his gun. "Then let's give them something to see."

Inside the abandoned compound, Ayla's world had turned to silence and shadows.

The man who'd introduced himself only as "the ghost of your father's past" hadn't returned, but guards rotated outside her door. They never spoke to her, never made eye contact. And yet she knew—this wasn't about ransom or power.

It was revenge. The kind that twisted bloodlines and history into weapons.

She thought about Viper. About Leon. Her heart tore in two.

Then a sound—subtle, like a click of a lock.

Ayla tensed, ready to scream, but a figure stepped in, draped in black. The face was masked, but the eyes—sharp, alert—met hers.

"Stay quiet if you want to live," the voice said.

The stranger cut her ropes with precision, handing her a small blade. "You'll need this. We only have five minutes."

"Who sent you?" Ayla whispered, barely able to hold the knife properly.

"No one," the girl said. "I'm doing this for her. For Elara."

Ayla's chest tightened. "You knew my mother?"

But the girl was already checking the hallway.

Outside, vehicles approached fast—Viper's men from one side, Leon's from the other. Neither knew the other was en route. Neither knew the real enemy was already watching from higher ground.

And as a silent alarm was triggered within the factory, a voice echoed through a secure phone line, far from the city:

WHiSPERS OF SHADOWS