Serena’s POV

The warehouse smelled of rust, oil, and fear. Shadows stretched across the walls like silent sentinels, and every corner held a whisper of Penny’s presence. I moved cautiously, each step deliberate, the sound of my breathing controlled. Ava stirred within me, her claws flexing and her teeth bared, anticipating the moment we would strike. Tonight, Penny’s reign of terror ended.

Ross and Richard flanked me, their presence a steady reassurance, but I knew this fight—this confrontation—was mine. Penny had underestimated me before, dismissed me as weak, as vulnerable. But she would see, in moments, that I was neither. I was more than the girl she had tried to...