Tied In Silence

Lyra couldn’t breathe.

Victor’s voice still echoed in her mind—how he had coldly ordered to dig through every detail of her past. Every single thing.

Her knees almost gave out.

What if he finds out?

The things her father made her do. The bruises she never spoke of. The nights she sobbed herself to sleep, locked in that dark room. The shame. The pain. The nightmares.

She was already breaking apart.

Without thinking, she turned and ran—her feet taking her to the only person who ever made her feel a little less broken.

Camelia.

Even though she knew she  just returned from a party and was probably exhausted, Lyra needed her. Desperately. Or she'd shatter into pieces.

She reached Camelia’s door and was about to knock, but stopped when she heard her  voices inside talking to someone on phone.

Lexa.

we still didn’t tell her about you . I don’t know how she’ll react knowing you’re not just a guard and our daughter ,her sister-in-law,” Camelia’s voice came through, tired but cautious.

“I just want to protect her,” she added softly. “She’s not ready. If she finds out right now… she might… she might do something to herself again.”

Lyra froze.

Her soul cracked open.

Victor’s sister.

Camelia, Lexa's mother.

Another lie.

Tears blurred her vision.

I trusted her. I trusted them. Again.

A sob escaped her lips, and she quickly turned away, holding her chest as if that would stop her heart from tearing apart.

She walked to the front door, opened it, and stepped into the cold, unforgiving rain. Darkness swallowed her, but it felt better than all the truths suffocating her inside.

Her head throbbed. Her knees shook. But she kept walking.

She just needed to breathe—even if it killed her.

---------

Victor was in his office, seething. The walls felt too tight, the silence too loud.

He paced like a caged beast.

Why won’t she tell me?

What is she hiding from me?

He slammed his fist on the desk. "I want everything about Lyra's past. Right now," he barked at Andrian, who nodded without question.

But what came next left Victor speechless.

"There’s nothing," Andrian said. "No school records, no medical reports… it’s like she didn’t exist before your marriage."

Victor’s eyes darkened. "Her father."

Ten minutes later, the massive doors of Lyra’s father’s mansion flew open.

Victor didn’t waste a breath.

BAM!

His fist collided with the bastard’s face, sending him crashing to the ground.

Guards stepped forward but froze at the look of murder in Victor’s eyes.

"Try me," he hissed, daring anyone to interfere.

Victor grabbed him by the collar and yanked him up like a ragdoll.

“What did you do to my wife?” he growled, voice low, dangerous.

Lyra’s father chuckled. Wrong move.

Another brutal punch, splitting his lip.

Victor’s fury snapped like a whip.

“You think I won’t kill you?” he sneered, pulling out his gun and firing into the man’s leg. The scream that followed was music to his rage.

The man laughed, blood trickling from his mouth. “She’s not even my daughter. Her mother was a whore a cheater.

Victor’s eyes turned feral.

He grabbed the man by the hair and slammed his head back. “Say one more fucking word about her and I’ll make sure you never speak again.”

“I made her pay,” he spat. “Just like her mother.”

Victor didn’t flinch. He didn’t speak.

He just punched, again and again, until the bastard’s face was barely recognizable.

But just as he raised the gun to end it—

His phone rang.

Camelia.

He answered without taking his eyes off the man.

“Victor… Lyra’s missing.”