Empire of Nothing

Nova sat down slowly, the cold leather chair sticking to her skin. Her knees were weak. Her thoughts—racing.

The screen in front of her flickered. A grainy video feed of her laughing on campus yesterday. Another feed: the alley behind the café she visited last week. And then… a paused frame.

Her window.

Taken from across the street.

She gripped the edge of the desk. "You knew. For weeks."

"We didn't want to scare you," Ethan said.

"You didn't want to trust me," she corrected, voice sharp.

No one denied it.

Darian leaned over the desk, tapping keys. "They weren't just following you. They were scanning who you talked to. What you searched. Someone hacked your school's database. Your phone. Even your art submissions."

Nova's breath caught. "Why?"

Ryder finally said what none of them had yet.

"Because of our father."

She blinked. "What?"

Ethan turned. "He's not just a billionaire."

"No, I got that part," Nova snapped. "I live in a castle. What I don't get is why anyone would track me. I'm nothing."

Max muttered, "You're not nothing."

Nova ignored him.

Darian brought up a file. Her name. Her photo. Redacted lines. Black bars covering text.

"This isn't just a security threat," he said. "This is a hit list."

Her heart stopped.

"The company our father runs," Ethan explained, "isn't just above board. It has enemies. People who don't play by the rules. And you—"

"—became part of our family," Max finished.

Nova stood.

Shaking.

"Except I'm not your blood. I'm the girl you ignored. You didn't even want me here."

Ryder's voice cracked. "We didn't want to care."

"But you do now?" she whispered.

"Yes," Ethan said.

And this time, no one argued.

Nova turned back to the screen.

Someone had been in her shadow.

Someone still was.

And suddenly, the mansion didn't feel like a prison anymore.

It felt like the last place she could still breathe.