The apartment was dimly lit, the soft yellow glow of the kitchen light casting long shadows against the walls. It was late—too late for anyone to be awake—but Vivian had heard something.
At first, she thought she had imagined it. A dull sound, a low voice, the quiet rustle of movement that didn’t belong to the usual sounds of their home at night. But then there was a sharp intake of breath, followed by Serena’s voice, low and urgent.
Vivian slipped out of bed, her bare feet silent against the wooden floor as she moved toward the hallway.
The scent of metallic blood hit her before she even turned the corner.
Then, she saw them.
Vince was sitting on one of their dining chairs, his left pant leg soaked in dark red, his face tight with pain, but his mouth still curled into something that almost resembled a smirk.
Serena was crouched beside him, pressing a tea towel against his thigh, the white fabric already stained through with red. Her movements were quick, efficient—not panicked, just focused.
Vivian froze.
She shouldn’t be here.
She should go back to bed, pretend she hadn’t seen anything, pretend this was just another night where she had imagined too much.
But then Serena glanced up, her sharp eyes locking onto her immediately.
“Viv, go get the medicine box.”
Her voice was steady.
No hesitation. No you shouldn’t be here.
Just an instruction.
Vivian nodded quickly, disappearing down the hall.
Her heart was hammering as she rummaged through the cabinet, pulling out the battered plastic container they always kept under the sink. She had only ever seen it used for minor things before—a cut on Serena’s palm, a bruise on Vince’s knuckles after a fight—but this was different.
She hurried back, setting the box on the table beside them.
Serena was already unrolling a fresh gauze pad, replacing the soaked-through towel with something cleaner.
“Watch closely,” she said, her voice even as she pressed the gauze to the wound. “You’ll hopefully never have to use this, but if you ever do, now you know.”
Vivian swallowed hard.
She didn’t want to learn this.
Didn’t want to know what it meant to press down on a wound and feel the warmth of someone else’s blood soaking through the fabric.
But she nodded anyway.
Serena guided her hand over the gauze, pressing down with just enough force.
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Vivian felt the way Vince tensed beneath her touch, heard the sharp hiss of pain he tried to hide, but he still smirked through it.
“Well, I hear the STEM field is very competitive.”
Serena rolled her eyes but didn’t stop working.
Vivian almost laughed, but the weight of the moment pressed against her ribs, holding her still.
She kept pressing down, just like Serena told her to.
And just like that, she learned.
Time passed in quiet, measured movements.
Vince didn’t complain, but she could tell he was losing energy. Serena worked quickly, her fingers precise as she cleaned the wound, applied pressure, taped the bandage in place.
Vivian was still standing by the table, watching, trying to understand, when there was a knock at the door.
Three short taps.
Serena’s head snapped up immediately.
She met Vince’s gaze for a second, something silent passing between them, before she turned back to Vivian.
“Go to your room.”
Vivian hesitated.
Serena’s tone wasn’t sharp, but it left no room for argument.
She turned on her heel and walked down the hall, but the second she was out of sight, she stopped.
She didn’t go back to her room.
She stayed close, just near enough to listen, heart pounding as Serena unlocked the door.
A man stepped inside.
Vivian had never seen him before.
He wasn’t big like Vince. He wasn’t loud or demanding like some of the other men she had met in passing.
But there was something about him that made her breath hitch, made her instincts pull back before she could even register why.
He was tall—not towering, but built like someone who knew how to fight. His body was lean but strong, his movements controlled, his presence quiet. His hair was cut short, freshly trimmed, with sharp lines that matched the edges of his jawline.
But it was his eyes that struck her first.
They were dark, too dark to read, but filled with something she couldn’t name. Stillness, patience—maybe even something colder.
He didn’t look at her.
Didn’t acknowledge anyone but Serena as he stepped inside, his gaze flicking once toward Vince before settling back on her cousin.
She watched as he moved—silent, efficient, someone who had done this before.
He wasn’t scared.
He wasn’t nervous.
He had the presence of someone who didn’t know fear anymore.
Serena spoke in hushed tones, her voice lower than usual, but Vivian couldn’t make out the words.
The man listened.
Nodded once.
Then he left.
He was in the apartment for less than a minute, but the weight of him stayed behind, lingering in the air like cigarette smoke, like something that wouldn’t leave even after the door clicked shut.
Silence filled the apartment.
Then—
“You can come out now.”
Vivian froze.
She hesitated for a second before stepping out from the hallway, heart pounding as Serena turned to her, arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Vivian cleared her throat.
“Is everything okay?”
Serena nodded, pausing for a moment before asking, “Did you get a good look at the guy who just came in?”
Vivian hesitated. “Yeah.”
Serena’s expression turned thoughtful.
“That’s Lucas,” she said finally. “And out of all the people you will ever meet from our world, he is the only one you should ever trust.”
Vivian swallowed, the weight of her words settling into her bones.
She didn’t ask why.
She just nodded.
Chapter 21: A Lesson in Blood (Continued)
Vivian swallowed, the weight of Serena’s words settling into her bones.
She didn’t ask why.
She just nodded.
That had been the end of it.
She had gone back to bed, pretending she hadn’t been standing in the hallway, pretending she hadn’t just watched a stranger step into their home like he belonged there, speak in hushed tones, and disappear like he had never been there at all.
At seventeen, she hadn’t thought much of it.
Lucas had just been a name, another person in Serena and Vince’s world that had nothing to do with her.
She had believed she would never need to remember that night, would never have to think about the way Serena’s voice had carried that quiet edge of certainty.
“Only him, Viv. No one else.”
That had been before.
Back when Vince was alive.
Back when Serena was still here.
Back when Vivian was still wrapped in the safety created for her by the two of them, untouched by the world they had kept her out of.
But now, Vince was dead and Serena was missing.
And standing in front of her was him.
The only man her cousin had ever told her she could trust.
The words tumbled out before she could stop them, breathless and unsteady.
“You’re Lucas.”