**Prologue:**
There was once a city, gilded in opulence, where power seeped through the walls like blood through a wound. Eldoria—the jewel of the empire—stood on its foundations of wealth, faith, and an iron will. Yet beneath the shimmering surface, the cracks began to show. Power, after all, is a fragile thing. It fractures, splinters, and when it does, everything begins to unravel.
The writer knew this. Hidden in the shadows, they watched the mighty play their games, scribbling away the sins of the elite. They knew the truth: power comes not from crowns or titles but from secrets. And Eldoria's secrets were many.
At the heart of it all, the Thorntons—a family bound by blood, burdened by ambition. They wove their legacy with iron fists and sharpened tongues. Yet even they could not escape the decay festering within their ranks. A lover's fall from grace, a brother's return from the dark, a mother's quiet fears—all were tied by threads invisible to the eye but felt with every breath.
In the cathedral, the faithful knelt in prayer, their eyes closed to the poison swirling around them. In the slave camps, fists clenched against the rising tide of violence. And in the hushed chambers of the council, threats whispered like the wind, promising ruin to any who dared stand in its path.
The writer writes. The murderer kills. And the story begins, as all stories do—with a single crack that brings everything down.
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Elite by Maclaw
Mystery / Thriller** ELITE ** Even with all the power one can wield, there is always a fracture waiting to splinter. In the corridors of the elite, secrets fester, unseen but never forgotten. The writer spins their web, the murderer leaves their mark, and the stains...
