Twilight deepened outside Sterling Mansion, casting dark shadows through grand windows as Sienna silently approached Silas's quarters. After the explosive council meeting earlier, a sense of restless urgency gripped her, driving her to seek answers. Silas held the key—willingly or otherwise.
Entering his chambers cautiously, she found Silas reclining in an armchair by the fireplace, his pale features accentuated by flickering firelight. He glanced up calmly, as though expecting her arrival.
"Sienna," he greeted quietly, an unreadable expression flickering briefly in his eyes. "Here to interrogate me again?"
She stepped closer resolutely, heart hammering fiercely. "I've come for the truth."
Silas raised an eyebrow slightly, mild amusement masking tension. "And what truth would that be?"
Sienna's gaze hardened steadily. "K-19. What is it? Who implanted that device inside you?"
He regarded her silently, shadows dancing hauntingly across his handsome features. "Answers come at a cost. Are you prepared to pay it?"
She leaned forward determinedly, voice firm. "I'm prepared for anything."
He sighed softly, seemingly resigned. Slowly, he stood and turned his back toward her, silently slipping his shirt open, revealing the smooth, muscular expanse of his spine.
"Then see for yourself," he murmured quietly.
Her breath caught sharply. Clearly visible at the base of his neck, etched delicately into his pale skin, was a small tattoo—the letters "K-19" marked permanently onto his body, hauntingly identical to the device removed earlier.
She reached out instinctively, fingers trembling slightly as she brushed the tattoo lightly. "Silas… what does this mean?"
His muscles tensed subtly beneath her touch. "It means I'm not merely poisoned—I was marked from birth. An experiment. A test subject."
Shock jolted through her sharply, pulse racing fiercely. "A test subject? For what?"
He turned slowly to face her again, eyes darkening with quiet pain. "For something sinister enough to kill for. And your master, Dr. Chen, was involved—though perhaps unwillingly."
She recoiled slightly in disbelief. "Impossible! My master would never—"
"Never intentionally harm?" Silas finished quietly. "Perhaps. But sometimes, intentions matter less than consequences."
Sienna shook her head stubbornly, fighting emotions threatening to overwhelm her. "Dr. Chen dedicated his life to healing. He would never allow—"
"Yet here I stand," Silas murmured softly, stepping closer, voice filled with bitter irony. "Living proof of that contradiction."
Her throat tightened painfully. "Then who's behind K-19?"
He regarded her steadily, cold fury simmering beneath the calm surface. "My mother. The late Madam Sterling. K-19 was her creation—an experiment intended to produce an ultimate heir, perfected through medical manipulation."
Sienna's breath caught sharply, horror mingling fiercely with understanding. "You're saying your own mother—?"
He smiled bitterly. "My mother saw children merely as vessels of ambition. Spencer was flawed, imperfect. I was her second attempt—K-19, the perfected Sterling heir."
Sienna's fingers tightened reflexively, anger sparking fiercely. "Perfected? She poisoned you! Your life is hanging by a thread."
He smiled grimly. "A deliberate consequence, should I stray from her intentions. Obedience or death—her legacy's choice."
She shook her head fiercely, resolve firming sharply within her heart. "Not anymore. I won't allow it."
Silas regarded her quietly, vulnerability briefly flickering in his guarded eyes. "Why do you care so much, Sienna?"
Her voice softened slightly, sincerity breaking through her cautious defenses. "Because no one deserves this fate—not even you."
He studied her carefully, emotion flickering briefly behind his mask. Slowly, he reached out, fingers gently brushing her jaw, gaze deepening intensely. "Dangerous words. Compassion makes you vulnerable."
She met his gaze unflinchingly, heart racing at his gentle touch. "I prefer vulnerability over heartlessness."
His lips curved faintly, eyes softening momentarily with something close to genuine warmth. Yet tension lingered. Before either could speak further, a sudden sharp knock shattered the fragile intimacy.
Silas opened the door swiftly, revealing a pale-faced servant trembling urgently. "Fourth Master, Patriarch Augustus summons both of you immediately. It's… critical."
Exchanging a wary glance, Silas and Sienna hurried down the corridor together. Augustus waited impatiently in his private chambers, face grave with unusual anxiety.
"Grandfather, what's happened?" Silas asked cautiously.
Augustus hesitated visibly, eyes flickering sharply toward Sienna. "I've received word—a threat against the entire Sterling lineage. K-19 has been reactivated. Tonight."
Silas's expression hardened instantly. "Reactivated?"
Augustus nodded grimly. "A dormant protocol. A kill-switch embedded within every Sterling heir bearing the K-19 mark."
Sienna's heart froze. "Kill-switch? Activated how?"
"Remotely," Augustus replied darkly. "Meaning someone within this household has control. Someone who seeks total annihilation."
Silas exchanged a silent, knowing glance with Sienna. "Then we must find who."
Augustus sighed heavily, visibly aging under pressure. "Precisely. But tread carefully—betrayal lurks dangerously close."
As they left Augustus's chamber, Silas suddenly caught Sienna's arm, pulling her gently yet urgently aside, voice a fierce whisper. "Sienna, if this kill-switch activates fully, I might not survive."
Determination surged fiercely within her. "I won't let that happen."
He smiled faintly, voice softening yet still guarded. "You're not entirely invincible, Sienna."
She met his gaze steadily, fiercely resolute. "Neither are you. But together, perhaps we have a chance."
A subtle warmth entered his gaze, mingling briefly with hope and reluctant trust. "Then we face this together."
Before they could speak further, footsteps approached rapidly again. Spencer emerged swiftly from shadows, expression unreadable yet eyes glinting sharply with suspicion.
"Brother. Sister-in-law," Spencer greeted calmly. "Interesting times we live in."
Silas stepped protectively before Sienna, voice dangerously soft. "Your timing is impeccable, Spencer. Care to explain your sudden interest?"
Spencer smiled coldly. "Only concern for family, dear brother. Though one might question where true danger lies—externally or closer to home?"
His eyes lingered deliberately on Sienna, accusation thinly veiled. Her spine straightened defensively. "Suspicion directed wrongly could prove fatal, Spencer."
He inclined his head mockingly. "Indeed. Yet trust misplaced is even deadlier. Remember that."
As Spencer strode away, tension lingered fiercely behind him. Silas slowly released his protective stance, frustration simmering visibly beneath calmness.
"The traitor is among us," he murmured darkly.
She nodded silently, resolve hardening sharply. "Then let's uncover them swiftly."
Together, they stepped forward into gathering darkness, determination forged in fire and shared peril. Yet even as unity strengthened, shadows whispered haunting truths:
Betrayal would strike soon—viciously, unexpectedly, from within.
And survival would demand sacrifices neither dared fully imagine.