Third Person's POV
Birch's Mansion
Peyton-Rose stood in front of Seraphina, her voice steady as she spoke. She explained how everything happened, how the man had put his hand under the scarf and ended his own life before they could get anything from him.
For a brief moment, Seraphina said nothing. Then she turned slowly.
"He… killed himself?" she asked, her tone sharp, like she needed to hear it again.
Peyton nodded once. "Yes."
Silence settled between them.
Seraphina's fingers curled slightly at her side as her thoughts began to run. This wasn't normal. It wasn't how things usually played out. Whoever they were dealing with… was not careless.
"They're more dangerous than I thought," she muttered quietly, almost to herself.
Her eyes lifted back to Peyton.
"And Stone?"
Peyton didn't hesitate. "I sent one of our associates to take him to the hospital."
Seraphina gave a slow nod, but her mind was already elsewhere, moving ahead, trying to catch up with a shadow she couldn't yet see.
For the first time, something felt… off.
****
Silent Hill Mansion
Alexander walked into the room and handed the tablet directly to Zero Veil, his expression calm but his eyes sharp.
"Run facial recognition," he said.
Zero Veil took it without a word and turned back to her system. Her fingers moved quickly across the keyboard as lines of code began to fill the screen.
Sebastian stood at the side, watching closely.
For a few seconds, everything went smoothly. Then the screen flickered and Zero Veil frowned. Her fingers paused, then moved again, faster this time as she tried to stabilize it.
The system responded for a second… then glitched again. The image distorted, then it went blank. She stopped.
"That's not normal," she said quietly.
The room fell into silence.
Alexander didn't react immediately. His gaze fixed on the empty screen.
Then slowly, a faint smile touched his lips.
"Interesting…" he said.
Zero Veil leaned back slightly, her eyes still on the system. "Something is blocking it," she added. "This isn't just a broken file… it's protected."
Alexander said nothing, his gaze darkening slightly.
****
At the Hospital
The atmosphere shifted the moment Seraphina walked in.
She moved through the hospital like she owned the space, her presence calm, elegant, and impossible to ignore. The staff straightened almost immediately, their voices lowering as she approached.
She stopped at the front desk.
"I'm here to see Elena," she said smoothly after introducing herself.
She was led down the hallway, and when the door opened, she stepped in.
Her eyes landed on Elena instantly.
For a second, she simply observed her… the pale skin, the quiet stillness, the weakness that sat around her like a shadow. Then slowly, she smiled.
"Well… you're doing better than I expected," she said softly, her tone light but carrying something underneath.
Elena looked up, slightly surprised.
Seraphina walked closer without waiting, then leaned in and wrapped her arms around her in a gentle embrace.
To anyone watching, it would look warm. But Seraphina's eyes darkened as she hid a malicious smile.