Chapter – Echoes of a Future

The photograph trembled in my hands as I stared at the boy’s face.

Big, solemn eyes. Soft brown curls. A button-down shirt too large for his small frame.

Innocent.

He looked nothing like me or Lucien. But it wasn’t about resemblance.

It was the message underneath.

“The Final Heir Must Fall.”

My chest tightened.

Lucien stood beside me, rigid, eyes scanning the photo for a hundred meanings. His fingers flexed at his sides like he was resisting the urge to break something.

“Who is he?” I whispered.

“I don’t know,” Lucien said darkly. “But someone wants us to think he matters. Or worse—belongs to...