The city was almost empty past midnight.
Rain soaked through her clothes as Selina wandered aimlessly until she reached an isolated park near the riverfront. The swings creaked softly in the wind while distant thunder rolled across the skyline.
She collapsed onto the wet grass, shaking violently.
All her life, she had tried so hard to earn love that was never truly meant for her.
Every sacrifice.
Every sleepless night.
Every quiet smile.
For what?
She laughed weakly through tears.
A stray.
That was what she had been to them.
A girl someone paid them to keep alive.
Nothing more.
Suddenly—
Footsteps.
Several figures emerged from the darkness surrounding the park.
Men dressed in black.
Selina stood quickly, panic rising in her chest.
"Who are you—"
One of them grabbed her violently before she could run.
She screamed, but another covered her mouth instantly.
Ropes tightened painfully around her wrists.
"Mm—!"
Her ankles were bound next.
Rain drenched her hair as they forced her to the ground. Fear crashed through her body violently now.
Then headlights appeared nearby.
A black car stopped beside the park entrance.
Two familiar figures stepped out.
Elara.
And Adrian.
Selina's eyes widened in horror.
Elara approached slowly beneath an umbrella, her expression calm—almost emotionless.
"You always were too talented for your own good," she said quietly.
Selina stared at her in disbelief, muffled cries trapped behind the gag.
Adrian stood silently beside Elara, his face unreadable.
Tears streamed down Selina's cheeks.
Why?
Why were they doing this?
Elara crouched in front of her.
"You know what the worst part was?" she whispered softly. "No matter how much people praised me... I knew you were better."
Selina's breathing became ragged.
"You were smarter. Kinder. More capable." Elara smiled bitterly. "Everything that should've belonged to me came naturally to you."
She glanced back toward Adrian briefly.
"And him?" Elara laughed quietly. "He noticed you immediately."
Selina's heart broke all over again.
Adrian finally spoke.
"I did love you once."
The words destroyed her.
"But loving you made everything complicated," he continued coldly. "You made Elara feel threatened. You made this family unstable."
Selina shook violently against the ropes.
"So yes," Elara admitted softly. "Some of it was real. But eventually... hurting you became easier."
Selina stared at Adrian desperately, praying he would deny it.
He didn't.
Rain poured harder around them.
"You should've stayed invisible," Elara whispered.
The assassins dragged Selina back toward the car as terror consumed her entirely.
And for the first time in her life—
Selina realized she had truly been alone from the very beginning.