Just Once

Chapter22-Zayden

The air outside was sharp and frigid, but I barely noticed as I chased after Sofia through the winding corridors of Marcus Lang's estate. The remnants of the chaos from the ballroom echoed behind us-shouts, confusion, the sound of security scrambling to contain whatever the hell had just gone down. None of it mattered right now.

All that mattered was catching that man-the ghost who had been lurking in the shadows all night, slipping through the cracks like smoke. He had something. Something we needed. And Sofia, being Sofia, hadn't hesitated to go after him alone.

I turned a corner just in time to see her silhouette disappear through a back exit. "Sofia!" I barked, picking up speed.

She didn't slow down. Of course, she didn't.

My heart pounded as I finally pushed through the exit and into the night. The estate's back gardens stretched into a long, dimly lit pathway that led to a more secluded area of the property. It was eerily silent, the only sound being my own breathing and the distant rustling of leaves.

Then, ahead of me, I caught sight of Sofia. She had stopped just past a marble fountain, her back rigid, eyes fixed on something in the distance.

I reached her side, my adrenaline still thrumming. "Where did he go?" I asked, scanning the darkness for any movement.

She exhaled, slow and measured. "He was just here."

Something about her voice made me glance at her sharply.

There was something... off.

Her stance was too composed. Her breathing too steady. She wasn't rattled. She wasn't frustrated.

She was waiting.

A chill ran down my spine.

Before I could react, a voice echoed from the shadows behind us. "It's funny, really. Watching two of the most dangerous people in this game chasing ghosts when the real enemy has been standing beside them all along."

I turned on instinct, reaching for my gun, but the moment I moved, I felt it-the sharp, undeniable press of cold steel against my ribs.

Not from the man in the shadows.

From Sofia.

I barely had time to register the betrayal before she leaned in, her breath warm against my ear. "Drop it, Zayden," she murmured, and for the first time in a long time, I heard something in her voice that made my stomach drop.

Finality.

I forced a chuckle, despite the blade pressing into me. "So, this is how it is?"

Sofia tilted her head, her expression unreadable. "You didn't really think The Society was my endgame, did you?"

I clenched my jaw, my mind working at rapid speed, trying to piece everything together. "And here I thought we were in this together."

Her lips curved into a small, almost regretful smile. "We were. Until we weren't."

I should've seen it. I should've known that every stolen glance, every touch that lingered, every damn moment of weakness between us-it had all been part of a much bigger game. One she had been playing long before I even stepped onto the board.

And the worst part?

I wasn't even sure if any of it had been real. But what I knew was...she was in the delusion that she was the only sly fox here.