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I was ready.

Only this time, for the right reason.

Two days later, I put aside my heavy bag and pressed the doorbell. My eyes remained fixed on the pale blue door as I heard footsteps approach and the door hesitantly opened.

It was Ella’s deep frown that met me first. For a moment, she looked speechless, like she’d seen a ghost, while I simply smiled.

“Bellebelle?” She gasped in shock, like she couldn’t believe it was me. It’s been a very long time, after all.

“Hey sister…” I didn’t even have the time to finish my sentence when she swallowed me in a hug, her body shaking.

And I hugged her back. I did feel kind of bad that I left them all alone for almost eight years, but it was necessary. Now that I was back for good, I would protect them.

“Ella?” A meek, high-pitched voice came from the apartment.

My eyes landed on Ari, standing there, her arms by her side, and confusion in her eyes.

But they widened when she took me in. “Belle?” There was a slight tremble in her voice.

“I’m back,” I said, giving her a soft smile as I stared into those hazel-blue eyes that were the most similar to Mother’s.

She rushed to me, holding back a sob as she crashed into my arms, and I caught her, holding her tight to me. I’m not leaving you anymore, Ari.

“Where were you?” Ella asked later that night after Ari went to bed. “I thought something terrible had happened. I wanted to go find you, do something, but the people who put us here said not to speak a word, and I was…” She worried her lips. “Scared something might happen to Ari.”

“It’s okay. You did the right thing,” I said, taking hold of her hand. “And don’t ask me where I’ve been. When I’m ready one day, I’ll tell you. All you need to know is that I was safe and nothing bad happened to me.”

The distress didn’t fade from her bright blue eyes that were full of questions, but surprisingly, she nodded. “As long as you’re fine and back forever, it’s okay with me,” she said, hugging me once again.

I knew in a way it was wrong to hide my new life from my sisters. But it was imperative I did so. Because once the darkness stained you, it became a part of you forever. And although I accepted that as my fate, I didn’t want the same for my sisters.

I had a duty.

And a promise to uphold.

CHAPTER 30

ARKANE

Age 33

A few months ago

“Do you agree to honor and uphold our family’s duties for the rest of your life?” my father asked, his authoritative tone resounding through the room.

“Yes,” I said calmly, taking our family’s ring from my father and placing it on my finger.

“I now announce that I, Victor Stormhold, will step down from my duty, and my eldest son, Arkane J. Stormhold, will take over as the head of the Stormhold Legacy,” my father announced to our family gathered around. “This family now belongs to him.”

Belongs? More like I belonged to them.

As a customary tradition, I bent down to my family members as a sign of respect. When I lifted myself to a full stand, they all raised their glasses and cheered my name, pronouncing me their new leader

A certain calmness washed over me as my eyes took in the room, letting the moment sink in. A moment I’d been waiting for all my life. Not because I craved the power and pride, but because I was finally at a place where I could bring justice to my mother.

Something my father failed to do.

Weeks later