Rhea didn't even remove her heels.
She walked straight into the sitting room, heels clicking against marble, eyes sharp with information she hadn't planned to bring home.
"They're coming back," she said.
Kane looked up from her seat slowly.
"Who?"
"Ling's family," Rhea replied, voice calm but edged. "The rules. The leash. The witnesses."
Kane's lips curved—not into a smile, but into something colder.
"So," she murmured, setting her glass aside, "the game just became… complicated."
Rhea crossed her arms. "It changes dynamics."
"No," Kane corrected softly. "It raises the stakes."
She stood and walked closer, studying her daughter's face the way generals studied maps.
"It also means," Kane added, "that Shyra is coming."
Rhea stiffened.
Her eyes flickered—not fear, not dislike—something closer to calculation.
"My sister," she said flatly.
"Yes," Kane replied. "Married. Polished. Devoted. Carrying a child on one arm and morality on the other."
Rhea exhaled slowly. "She won't approve."
"She never does," Kane said, almost fondly.
There was a pause.
Then Kane reached out and brushed Rhea's hair back, gentle—uncharacteristically so.
"You know I love you more," Kane said quietly. "You understand me."
Rhea didn't respond.
Kane continued, "Shyra loves me. Protects me. But you—" her fingers pressed lightly at Rhea's temple, "—you carry me."
Rhea's jaw tightened. "And she'll interfere."
"She'll watch," Kane corrected. "She'll judge. She'll pray you stop."
Rhea smiled faintly. "I won't."
Kane's eyes gleamed with approval.
"She has a daughter now," Kane said. "A year old. Soft things make people weak."
Rhea's gaze darkened. "Or dangerous."
Kane nodded. "Exactly."
Silence stretched.
Rhea turned toward the window, city lights reflecting in her eyes like scattered flames.
"Ling with a family," Rhea murmured. "That means pressure points."
"And masks," Kane added. "She'll behave. She'll pretend control."
Rhea's lips curved slowly.
"Good," she said. "It's easier to ruin someone when they're trying to be perfect."
Kane stepped closer. "Just remember—Shyra isn't your enemy."
Rhea turned back, eyes sharp. "Neither is Ling."
Kane studied her—too long, too carefully.
"Don't confuse strategy with sentiment," Kane warned.
Rhea adjusted her nose ring, fingers steady.
"I won't," she said.
But as she walked away, one truth followed her like a shadow she refused to acknowledge:
Ling's family returning didn't scare her.
What scared her—
Was how much she wanted Ling to see her anyway.