The road to the Fish Tank was a shadow that neither Acacia nor Mia could navigate on their own. Even with the Byron name, the Syndicate's inner sanctum was a ghost visible only to those who had bled for the mark.
Mia gripped her phone, her knuckles white, and dialed a number she hadn't touched in years. A man named Silas answered on the third ring. He was an old associate of the family, a man who smelled of expensive cologne and gunpowder.
"Silas, it's Mia Byron," she said, her voice dropping into a hard, professional cadence. "I'm done sitting on the sidelines. I want in. I want to join the Dragon Syndicate."
A low, gravelly chuckle vibrated through the receiver. "The little princess wants to play in the mud? You're out of your depth, Mia."
