Page 200 of Villainous Rise

I’d sent her an anonymous gift last Christmas. A robotics kit that was probably too advanced for her age. I’d watched the security footage from their house as she opened it, saw the way her eyes lit up. The way she immediately started sorting through the components, ignoring the other presents.

Katherine had looked concerned. Probably wondering who would send such a gift. Probably worried it was from her dead brother.

That’s how they referred to me. Dead. Easier than admitting their son, their brother, had chosen to join the League. They didn’t know I’d become Cipher, but they’d known what I’d wanted to become.

I shifted slightly, adjusting Annie in my arms. She murmured something in her sleep but didn’t wake.

My youngest brother had a son now. Four years old. Named him Thomas.

That had fucked me up for weeks when I found out. Thomas. Like I was some beloved family member they were honoring, not someone they’d erased from family photos.

The boy had my eyes. That unsettling silver that had always made me stand out.

Did they see me in him? Did they worry he’d turn out like me?

I wanted to tell Annie all of this. Wanted her to know that beneath the Villain, beneath the mask and the technology, there was still this raw, bleeding part of me that couldn’t let go.

I wanted to tell her how fucking awful it felt to know they celebrated holidays, had family gatherings, lived their lives as if I’d never existed.

I wanted to tell her how I’d left flowers on my father’s grave when he died three years ago. How I’d stood at the back of the funeral, wearing a holographic disguise, listening to eulogies that never once mentioned his youngest son.

They’d moved on. All of them. And here I was, one of the most powerful Villains in the world, still caring what they thought. Still hoping for... what? Reconciliation? Acknowledgment?

Fucking ridiculous.

I pressed my lips to Annie’s forehead, drawing comfort from her warmth, her presence. She knew me, the real me, better than anyone ever had. Better than family who’d shared my blood but never understood my mind.

Maybe someday I’d tell her everything. About the nieces and nephews I watched from afar. About the family gatherings I monitored through hacked security systems. About how empty it felt to be erased.

But not tonight. Tonight, I’d just hold her. Let her sleep. Keep her safe.

And try not to think about all the people who’d thrown me away.

CHAPTER 36

ANNIE

The low rumble of voices pulled me from sleep, my brain struggling to process where I was. The Tower. The aftermath of the rooftop disaster where I’d⁠—

I sat bolt upright.

Cipher and Havoc stood near the window, their postures tense, voices hushed but urgent. They both turned when I moved.

“What’s happened?” My voice sounded raspy from crying.

Havoc’s face was grim, the lines around his eyes deeper than usual. “Helios is missing.”

“Missing? What do you mean, missing?”

“He’s not responding to calls. Not at his apartment. Not anywhere I can find him.” Havoc ran a hand through his silver hair. “He disappeared after what happened on the roof.”

The memory of Helios’s face when I’d used Halcyon’s power slammed into me. The shock. The fear. The way his eyes had widened when I’d commanded everyone to stop.

“Oh god.” My stomach twisted painfully. “I broke him. I did this.”

Cipher made a soothing sound, moving toward me. “You didn’t break anyone, Sparks.”

“This isn’t your fault, Annie,” Havoc said, his voice firm. “Helios has had an unusual reaction to Halcyon’s influence. That’s all.”