SHADOWS OF A NAME

Paris -Theo's Loft, 1:14 a.m.

They always said the Carter brothers were different.

Zion was the storm cold, strategic, the kind of man who'd drown a village just to save a city.

Theo? Theo was the fire.

He ruined things slowly. Beautifully. He made them fall in love with the warmth before they realized it burned.

He sat in his study now, lights off, staring at the sketch of him Amira had left on the glass table. Celeste had drawn it years ago but it was Amira who brought it back to life. And pain.

He traced the outline of his own face with one finger.

He didn't recognize it anymore.

Flashback - Switzerland, Two Years Ago

Celeste had been a flicker at first.

Too young. Too fragile.

But then she laughed. Then she challenged him. Then she asked why the world treated her like she was broken before she ever had the chance to be whole.

She made him feel seen. Human. Weak.

So he ruined her.

Not intentionally. Not at first.

But he let the lies fester. He let Zion cover up things that should've been exposed. And when she said she loved him, he panicked.

"You're dangerous," he told her one night.

She had smiled. "And you like that."

He had.

And that terrified him.

Present -Theo's Loft

Amira's words echoed in his head like a curse.

"You broke her."

She didn't know how true that was.

Theo stood and walked to the locked drawer in his study. He pulled out a worn folder marked in faded ink:

Celeste -Archive

Inside were copies of emails, old letters, even a voice note from Zion. Things they'd both agreed to bury. Things that tied them to decisions they couldn't undo.

"She's spiraling," Zion had said in one note.

"She's going to say something stupid. Handle it discreetly."

Theo had tried.

He sent her flowers. A letter. He begged her to stay quiet to trust him.

But Celeste never wanted silence.

She wanted to scream.

2:03 a.m.

He poured a drink. Sat back. Watched the city glitter like a lie.

If Amira went public… it would destroy everything.

Carter Investments. Zion. The gallery. Him.

He wasn't scared of losing money.

He was scared of losing her.

Because somewhere between guilt and obsession, Amira had become the second fire he couldn't put out.

2:17 a.m. Voicemail Left on Amira's Phone

"I didn't kill her, Amira. But I didn't save her either.

That's worse, isn't it?

You want to burn me? Fine. Do it. Just know when the truth comes out, Zion's not going to come out clean either.

There's more. So much more.

And if I go down... I'll take him with me."

Theo's Final Thought

Celeste died once. But now she's killing us all one secret at a time.

And I think Amira might be next.