Chapter 7
Alec’s POV
The address was not on any map, which to Alec, meant two things: either it didn’t exist or it was exactly where he needed to be.
He turned off the main road and followed the gravel stretch into a tunnel of trees. The sun had dipped below the horizon an hour ago, but the canopy above him made it feel like it was midnight, his headlights cut across twisted roots and flickers of movement in the brush.
He tightened his grip on the wheel, every instinct in his body told him this was it.
The lead had come from a scared kid in a hoodie, probably no older than sixteen. Twitchy, sharp-eyed, and definitely used to keeping secrets. Alec had followed him for weeks, slowly gaining his trust, and slipping him cash in exchange for fragments of a bigger puzzle.
“She was taken,” the kid had said. “Before her birthday. Pretty girl, long hair, quiet.”
And then he had whispered the name like it tasted wrong in his mouth.
Eden.
The name had come up before, rumors mostly. A private compound somewhere on the coast, off-grid and surrounded by wilderness and rumor. Nothing concrete, until now.
Now, Alec had a road.
He had also packed a Glock in his glove compartment and hadn’t told anyone where he was going, just in case.
The road curved again, narrowing until he was barely crawling forward. Then the trees opened up, and there it was, barely visible through the fog.
A gate.
Twelve feet tall, black iron, and dead silent.
No buzzers and no guards, just a camera angled down from the treetops like a watchful eye. There were no signs either, no address. No warnings. Just the overwhelming sense that he didn’t belong here—and whoever did didn’t want to be found.
He killed the engine and got out.
Leaves crunched under his boots. The silence was thick, unnatural. Even the wind seemed to pause.
He approached the gate slowly, heart pounding harder than he would care to admit.
Once he was up close, he saw it. A symbol carved faintly into the steel, barely noticeable unless you were looking. An ouroboros. A snake devouring its own tail.
His breath caught, he remembered that symbol.
It had been scrawled in the corner of the old report from when Siena disappeared. His sister, the only piece of blood he had left.
He didn’t know where she had gone. No calls, no leads, no one cared.
But Alec had never stopped looking and even now, loop standing here, something in his gut twisted hard.
This was real.
He stepped back, pulled out his phone, and tried to drop a pin. The map didn’t load, no signal.
Of course.
He circled to the left, walking the tree line, searching for a break in the fence. There was nothing, just more trees, thorns and roots twisting over one another like warning signs. He moved slowly, careful not to trigger any cameras or worse, sensors.
Then something crunched ahead, he froze.
It wasn’t an animal.
He heard footsteps.
Alec ducked behind a tree, his heart hammering. He couldn’t see the source, but he could hear them, deliberate, slow, too confident to be lost.
He reached for his weapon.
Then he heard a female voice, cool and amused.
“You really shouldn’t be here.”
Alec turned too late.
She was already behind him.
Tall, slender, sharp-featured and dressed like she had stepped out of a crime noir flick. Black coat, gloves, and a sleek, emotionless face that held a quiet kind of power.
“Who the hell are you?” Alec demanded, keeping his tone steady.
“I could ask you the same,” she said, cocking her head. “But I already know.”
Her eyes flicked to his face like she was filing him away. “Alec Melbourne, Siena’s older brother, military dropout, likes breaking things.”
He flinched at her mention of Siena’s name.
“You know where she is?”
She smiled. “Maybe.”
He lifted his gun. “Tell me.”
“That’s not how this works.”
In one movement, she was on him. He hadn’t even seen the blade, just felt it graze his ribs as she shoved him back against the tree.
“I could kill you right now,” she said softly. “And no one would ever find your body.”
“I’m used to being underestimated.”
Her smile deepened. “I’m not underestimating you, I’m warning you.”
They stared at each other, tension coiling like a loaded spring. Then she stepped back.
“You have five minutes,” she said. “After that, if you’re still on Eden ground, I can’t protect you.”
Alec didn’t lower his gun. “Protect me from what?”
She turned, walking away like she hadn’t almost gutted him. “From him.”
“Who?”
She paused just before the trees swallowed her.
“Damien,” she said. “The man who owns your sister now.”
Alec’s stomach dropped.
“I’m going in,” he said, jaw clenched.
The woman, Leona Hale, laughed softly. “You won’t get far.”
“Try me.”
She disappeared into the dark.
Alec moved quickly, sticking to the shadows, circling further until the terrain sloped down. He followed the sound of water, hoping for a creek or any kind of opening.
Then he saw it.
A break in the trees, a hidden path.
No lights, no cameras, just dirt and mist curling low.
He took a breath and stepped in.
The woods closed behind him.
The game had officially begun.
