Shadows Of Rebirth

(Chapter 21: Victoria & Bianca POV) 

 (Victoria POV) 

 I watched Mira leave the dining room, her back stiff, her movements controlled. She thought she was being defiant, but I saw the hesitation in her eyes. The way she weighed her choices, trying to calculate an escape.

Foolish girl.

She could never escape me.

 I took a slow sip of my coffee, savoring the rich bitterness before setting the cup down with deliberate grace. Across from me, Bianca wore a smug expression, one perfectly suited to her role in our little game.

 "She'll come to the gala," my daughter said, twirling a spoon between her fingers. "But do you think she suspects?"

 I arched a brow. "Mira always suspects. That's why we must be careful."

 Bianca rolled her eyes. "I don't see why we're wasting time. If you ask me, we should've dealt with her ages ago."

 I smiled indulgently. Bianca was impatient too eager to see the endgame. But patience was a virtue, and this particular plan required careful execution.

 "Timing is everything, my darling," I murmured. "Besides, what would be the fun in simply eliminating her when we can use her instead?"

 Bianca huffed, but I saw the flicker of understanding in her eyes. She was cruel, yes, but she wasn't stupid.

 I leaned forward, lowering my voice. "Mira may have her secrets, but she doesn't yet realize how much we know. The gala is our stage, and she will play the part we choose for her."

 Bianca smirked. "And if she doesn't?"

 I smiled back, slow and knowing. "Then we make sure she has no other choice."

 (Bianca POV) 

 School was insufferable. Not because of the coursework—I barely needed to lift a finger to pass. No, what made it unbearable was the way everyone still fawned over Mira.

 Even after all these years, after she had been cast aside, there were still whispers. Still those who looked at her with admiration, as if she were some tragic princess instead of the pathetic, unwanted thing she really was.

But not for long.

 As I strolled through the halls, my heels clicking against the polished floor, I spotted Lily—one of my more useful followers—hovering near her locker. She straightened when she saw me, eager for my attention.

 "Did you do what I asked?" I asked coolly.

 She nodded quickly. "The dress has been delivered, just like you said,it plain and not anything fancy but still of good quality."

 A slow smile curled my lips. "Good."

 Lily hesitated. "Are you sure this will work?"

 I turned to her, letting my gaze harden. "It's not a matter of 'if.' Mira will humiliate herself. And once she does, she'll realize she never should have set foot back in our world."

 Lily nodded, but I barely paid her any more attention. My mind was already on the gala, on the moment Mira would step into the spotlight, completely unaware of the trap we had laid for her.

It would be glorious.

And this time, there would be no coming back from it.

 (Mira's POV)

 The grand ballroom gleamed with wealth and power, every surface polished to perfection, every guest adorned in luxury. I felt suffocated.

 This was not my world.

 Yet here I was, descending the marble staircase, a vision in a gown Lillian had handpicked for me. The silk clung to my frame, elegant yet modest, designed to be both alluring and respectable. Too respectable.

 I knew Lillian and Bianca had planned something. A wardrobe malfunction, perhaps? A scene to humiliate me?

 But as I stepped onto the ballroom floor, something unexpected happened.

 The murmurs weren't cruel.

 They were in awe.

 People whispered, but not out of mockery—in admiration. My gown, which should have betrayed me, instead elevated me. I wasn't their scandal—I was their enchantment.

 I caught Bianca's expression from across the room—her smirk twisting into barely concealed fury. Lillian, however, remained composed, though her eyes flickered with something dark.

 Whatever they had planned had backfired.

 And then I saw him.

 Callidus.

 He stood like a specter of darkness, clad in a sharp black suit, golden eyes gleaming with amusement. The air shifted with his presence, like the moment before a storm.

 A slow smile played on his lips as he extended a hand. "Shall we dance, cara mia?"

 Every muscle in my body screamed no.

But my father stepped forward, his voice sharp. "Accept the offer, Mira."

 The weight of the room pressed down on me. This wasn't a request. This was a demand.

 I felt trapped—caged between my father's will and Callidus's sinister presence.

 I was about to step forward when a cold, firm hand caught my wrist.

 Lorenzo.

 He emerged from the crowd like a shadow, his grip gentle but unyielding. His crimson gaze burned as he turned to Callidus, his voice dangerously calm.

 "She's not yours to claim."

 The ballroom went deathly silent.

 Callidus's smirk faltered for a fraction of a second before he chuckled, the sound dripping with amusement. "How amusing. And who are you to interfere?"

 Lorenzo's hold tightened ever so slightly. "Someone who doesn't take kindly to leeches."

 A tension crackled between them, unseen but suffocating. The air itself seemed to pulse with an unspoken challenge.

 Before Callidus could respond, Lillian gracefully stepped forward, her smile pleasant, her eyes sharp. "Now, now, gentlemen. Let's not cause a scene."

 I turned to her, suspicion clawing at my insides. There was something in her gaze—something knowing.

She wasn't surprised.

And that's when it hit me.

Lillian knew Callidus.

They were working together.

 The realization struck like a dagger to my ribs. The careful manipulation, the insistence on this ball, the way my father blindly followed her lead—it was all orchestrated.

 My stepmother had never wanted to ruin me publicly.

She wanted to sell me.

 The nausea rising in my throat was unbearable.

 Callidus knew I had figured it out. His smirk deepened, his golden eyes dancing with amusement as if daring me to say something.

 But Lorenzo, ever perceptive, shifted closer. His body stood between me and Callidus, a silent vow of protection.

 His voice was low, meant only for me. "Do you trust me?"

 My heart pounded.

 But there was only one answer.

"Yes."

 Without another word, Lorenzo pulled me away, leaving the stunned crowd—and a furious Callidus—behind.

 For the first time that night, I could breathe.

But I wasn't safe.

Not yet.