Chapter 986
“Make it look like a heart attack,” Lucian said. “It’s the only way to keep them away from your son.”
Arthur stared at the case. His hands shook.
“Please,” Arthur whispered.
Lucian stood. “Goodbye, Arthur.”
He walked out. He hated doing the Syndicate’s dirty work, but if he didn’t, they would send someone far worse — someone who would go after Skye next. This was the only way to close the loop.
At Oracle, Skye sat on the floor of her office with the burnt doll in her lap.
She had felt something hard inside its stuffing.
She took a pair of scissors and sliced open the doll’s belly. She dug her fingers into the cotton and pulled out a key.
It was old, made of heavy brass. The head was shaped like a snake eating its own tail.
The Ouroboros.
F𝗂n𝗱 𝘯𝘰𝗏el 𝗣𝗗𝗙𝗌 o𝗻 𝗀аl𝘯оv𝖾𝘭𝗌.сo𝘮
Julian rolled into the office. He saw the key and stopped.
“So you found it,” Julian said quietly.
“What is this?” Skye asked, holding it up.
“It’s the key to the archives,” Julian said. “The real archives. Not the attic.” He wheeled closer. “The Keepers — the inner circle is called the Ouroboros. They run this city. They run the world.”
Skye stared at him. “The birdcage…”
“It was a test,” Julian said. “A selection process. They take children. They break them. They see who puts themselves back together stronger.”
“And me?” Skye asked.
“You were the only one who passed,” Julian said. “You escaped. But you didn’t just survive — you became ruthless. You became exactly what they wanted.”
Skye felt the room tilt. Her revenge — had all of it been part of the test?
“He wants you back, Skye,” Julian said. “He wants you to take your place at the head of the table.”
“And if I refuse?”
“Then he burns the city down,” Julian said. “Starting with everyone you love.”
The television in the corner flashed a breaking news banner.
BREAKING: ARTHUR STERLING FOUND DEAD IN CELL. APPARENT HEART ATTACK.
Skye looked at the screen. Then she looked at the key in her hand.
“He killed Arthur,” Skye said. “Because Arthur failed.”
“Warning shot,” Julian confirmed.
Skye closed her fist around the key. The metal bit into her palm.
“He wants a monster?” she whispered.
She rose and walked to the window, looking out at the sprawl of city lights below.
“I’ll give him a monster. But I’m going to eat him alive.”
The silence in the Oracle Holdings executive office was not peaceful — it was the heavy, suffocating quiet that precedes a detonation. Julian Vance had left moments ago, his wheelchair humming softly as he exited to handle the immediate legal fallout of Arthur’s death and to secure the assets before the government could freeze them. His departure left a vacuum in the room, a tangible emptiness that pressed against Skye’s skin.
.