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𝖪𝖮𝖮𝖫-𝖠𝖨𝖣 𝖬𝖠𝖭

┗━━━༻❁༺━━━┛

"Mommy?"

Sophie's eyes snapped open, the haze of sleep still clinging to her as she pushed herself up onto her forearms. She squinted against the light seeping through the doorway, her vision slowly adjusting to the small figure standing just beyond the threshold.

"You okay? What's wrong, baby?" Her voice was thick with sleep.

She turned slightly, instinctively reaching out beside her—only to find the other half of the bed empty. Kai was gone. Her stomach twisted. She wasn't sure if the feeling in her chest was relief or something else.

"Can I sleep with you?" Micah asked, his voice small.

"Of course, come here." She stretched her arms out in invitation, watching as he padded across the room and climbed into bed beside her.

He curled up against her and Sophie pulled the blanket over them both, pressing a kiss to the top of his head. The quiet between them was comforting, the steady sound of their breathing beginning to lull her back into sleep—until his voice broke through the silence.

"He scares me."

Sophie's eyes snapped open again. 

"Who?" 

Micah hesitated, glancing at her before turning his gaze up to the ceiling. "Daddy."

A slow, creeping anger spread through Sophie's chest. What had Kai done? What had he said to make their son afraid of him?

She took a breath, steadying herself. "Did he hurt you?" She forced the words out carefully, fighting to keep her voice even.

Micah shook his head. "No."

But fear didn't need bruises to exist.

"Is he bad?" His voice was so small, so unsure.

Sophie felt something crack inside her chest.

"I..." She faltered because how was she supposed to answer that? She had spent so much of her life loving Kai, hating him, fearing him, and now—now she had to see him through Micah's eyes, through the eyes of their son.

She smoothed his hair again, pressing another kiss to his forehead. "He's... complicated. But you don't have to worry about that. It's my job to protect you. Always."

Micah stared at her for a long moment before finally nodding, his small body relaxing slightly against her.

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Sophie followed Kai down the hall, his goons flanking her. She hugged herself tightly, nerves twisting in her stomach as the sounds of a heated fight echoed from the next room—shouts, scuffling, the unmistakable sound of a body hitting furniture.

The moment they stepped inside, chaos unfolded before her eyes. Winter and Beverly were tangled in a violent struggle, gripping and clawing at each other, while Ally and Ivy desperately tried to pull Beverly off.

"Stop this nonsense." Kai's voice cut through the tension.

Kai's men wasted no time, shoving their way into the brawl and forcefully tearing the women apart.

"I hate you!"

"Get off me! Get the—"

"Sit down." One of the guards barked, roughly tossing Ally onto the couch. The rest of the women were forced down beside her, their breaths ragged.

Kai stepped forward, his presence sucking the air from the room. "Disloyalty. Lies. Backstabbing." His voice rang out. "That is what politics as usual looks like—tearing each other apart instead of building something stronger. We have to rise above this petty shit if we ever hope to reach true power."

Sophie lingered near the doorway, avoiding Kai's gaze as she locked eyes with Winter. Her sister-in-law looked shaken, but Sophie looked away just as quickly, not wanting to draw attention to herself.

Kai moved to the side, lifting a large tin from the floor and placing it on the coffee table in front of the couch. 

"What is that?" Winter asked, her voice wary.

Kai ignored the question as he pried off the lid. Her stomach twisted violently as her mind put the pieces together.

Ally seemed to realize it too. "Oh my God."

Kai dipped a ladle into the container, his expression serene. "Jim Jones once said..." He trailed off, setting out a row of small paper cups.

Sophie froze. Her throat went dry.

"Death is not a fearful thing," Kai continued, his voice like a sermon. "It's the living that's cursed."

"Jesus, Kai." Beverly's voice was laced with disbelief.

"Who the hell is Jim Jones?" Winter asked.

Beverly barely spared her a glance. "He made his followers drink poisoned Kool-Aid."

A chill ran down Sophie's spine. She couldn't move, couldn't speak—she could only watch in horrified silence as Kai poured the liquid into the cups, one by one.

"Please, Kai." Ivy's voice cracked. "You can't do this. Oz needs his mothers."

Oz.

Her heart clenched painfully as she watched Ivy's pleading expression.

She wanted to move, to say something—to do anything.

But all she could do was stand there, paralyzed.

"You need us," Ally urged, her voice edged with desperation. "If you want to reach the next level, you need more than a bunch of ass-kissing sycophants."

A scoff came from across the room. "All he needs are his loyal followers," Gary, the one-armed zealot, sneered from his perch on the armchair.

Kai's gaze flickered to him, then back to the room at large. "That's right, Gary. Fidelity to the cause is the backbone of our movement." He exhaled slowly, eyes gleaming with something feverish. "But it's time to free ourselves from the prison of flesh. That's why this isn't just for the women. It's for all of us. Our bodies are weak. Fragile. They create nothing but pain and suffering."

Sophie shifted uncomfortably, the hairs on the back of her neck rising. 

God, he sounded completely batshit insane.

Kai continued, his voice dripping with twisted conviction. "To transcend biology and ascend as astral beings, we must shed our physical forms. Death isn't the end—it's a doorway. We will resurrect in the instant of our deaths, reborn into something greater. And when I launch my senatorial campaign, we will return—more powerful than ever."

He took a breath, reveling in the gravity of his own words. Then, with calm finality, he gestured to the cups. "Everybody take one."

The room hesitated. Then, one by one, Kai's followers obeyed, stepping forward, hands steady as they accepted their fate.

"When I point to you, you drink."

A whoop of excitement broke the tense silence. "Fuck yeah! It's a good day to die!" one of the men shouted, grinning wildly.

Kai smirked at the enthusiasm before turning. "Gary, make sure the ladies get a drink."

Sophie's stomach twisted as Gary cocked the gun in his hand and aimed it at the couch.

A quiet whimper escaped Ivy as she hesitantly reached out first, her fingers trembling as they curled around the flimsy paper cup. Beverly followed, then Ally, but Winter remained frozen, her lips pressed into a thin, bloodless line.

Kai's gaze shifted, settling on Sophie. His voice softened, coaxing. "Sophie, baby." He nodded toward the remaining cups. "Come on."

Sophie stepped forward, moving to stand beside him. Her fingers brushed over the rim of the cup as she picked it up.

Her free hand instinctively flew to her stomach.

The baby.

She could feel the life inside her, tiny, fragile, unaware of the nightmare unfolding around them.

Fear coiled in her chest, suffocating her as she looked up at Kai, searching his face. His soulless eyes gleamed. And then, like a flicker of light in the darkness, she saw it.

This is a test.

Of course, it was.

Kai was too egotistical to die. Too self-important to sacrifice himself. And there was no way he would willingly end the life of the child he already saw as his second heir.

She forced a smile, her fingers tightening around the cup.

Winter was the last to take a cup. Then, silence.

They waited.

Kai's gaze swept the room before landing on one of his men. "Puss Bucket. My man! Do us the honor."

A heavy pause.

Puss Bucket's hands trembled. "I can't! I'm—I'm not gonna do it. No. I'm out of this. I-I don't wanna be an astral being!"

Kai's expression remained impassive as he turned to Gary. "Gary, he showed his true colors."

Before Puss Bucket could react, Gary raised his gun and fired three shots into his chest.

The gunfire rang through the room, making the women flinch. Sophie sucked in a sharp breath, her entire body stiffening as Puss Bucket crumpled to the ground.

A strangled sob escaped Ally. "Please, Kai! Please!" Tears streamed down her face, Ivy mirroring her distress.

Kai ignored her. His attention shifted to the couch, where the women sat frozen. "Now the womenses..." he drawled, gesturing toward them.

"Kai, please." Beverly's voice wavered, but he didn't acknowledge her.

Before anyone else could speak, Sophie took a step forward. "I'll go."

A flicker of surprise crossed Kai's face as he met her eyes.

"Oh, God. Oh, God. Sophie, don't do it." Ally whimpered.

"Don't. No. No, no, no." Ivy mumbled under her breath, her eyes wide with horror.

But Sophie didn't waver. She held Kai's gaze as she tipped the cup to her lips and swallowed.

Kai smirked, turning his attention back to the others. "This is not suicide," he declared. "It's a revolutionary act. The world will talk about us forever."

Ally and Ivy exchanged panicked glances before hesitantly following Sophie's lead. Beverly did the same.

The only one left was Winter.

She stood slowly, fixing Kai with an icy stare. "You said we would always take care of each other."

"You're not doing anything I wouldn't." His voice was soft, almost sincere.

Winter inhaled sharply, then raised the cup to her lips. Hatred burned in her eyes as she drank, crushing the paper cup in her fist before sinking back onto the couch.

Kai turned back to his men, eyes gleaming. "Boys!"

One by one, he pointed to them, each of them shouting in exhilaration before throwing back their drinks. Cheers erupted, and finally, Kai raised his own cup and drank.

"Do you feel it?!" he bellowed.

His men roared in response. "Yeah!"

Kai leaned his head back, closing his eyes. "The corrosive agent, the blood pouring from your throat?"

A beat of silence. Then—

"I think I just shit my pants," Gary muttered.

Kai cracked a grin, eyes flicking open. "No, that's just your colitis."

He let the tension hang for a moment before letting out a quiet chuckle.

"Why would I kill us? I'm running for Senate. And dead people can't vote." He smirked. "Except in Chicago."

Laughter erupted from his followers.

"There was nothing in the Kool-Aid!"

A stunned silence rippled through the room. Sophie's eyes flickered between the women as realization dawned on them.

Kai stretched his arms wide. "Nothing except proof that we are all in this together. That we are loyal to the end, that we would die for one another. We are the few, the happy few, the band of brothers and sisters. We live and fight another day."

His men erupted into chants. "Kai! Kai! Kai!"

Sophie forced a tight-lipped smile. "May I be excused, Supreme Leader?" Her voice was light, almost teasing, but her eyes were cold.

Kai turned to her, amusement flickering across his face before he nodded.

The moment she turned the corner, the tears spilled over. She wiped them away hastily, but it did nothing to stop the panic attack clawing its way up her throat.

She pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to steady herself. Trying to breathe.

She had survived this round.

But for how much longer?

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A/N: This is gonna be a bit longer than I planned but I thought yall deserved an update :)