Point of No Return

Point of No Return
Alex POV

The door burst open mid-kiss.

Marco stood there with his gun drawn, then quickly lowered it.

"Sorry, boss. Heard shouting. Thought there was trouble."

"There is trouble," I said, not moving away from Iris. "Just not the kind you're thinking."

Marco's eyes went from me to Iris to our hands still intertwined.

"Oh. That kind of trouble."

"Marco—"

"Say nothing. I saw nothing. Understood?"

"Understood."

He backed out and closed the door.

Iris pulled away, her face red. "That was humiliating."

"That was inevitable. We can't hide this forever."

"We can try."

"Why? I'm not ashamed of how I feel."

"You should be. I'm twenty-one, Alex. Your men will think you're taking advantage of me."

"Are you being taken advantage of?"

"No. But they don't know that."

She had a point. In my world, older men who pursued young women were seen as either pathetic or predatory.

"Then we tell them the truth. That this is real."

"And if they don't believe us?"

"Then they don't. But I'm not hiding you like a dirty secret."

Iris touched my face gently. "You'd really risk your reputation for me?"

"I'd risk everything for you. I thought I'd made that clear."

Someone knocked again. "Alex? We have a situation." Elena's voice this time.

We opened the door to find everyone gathered in the main room.

"What now?" I asked.

Dad pointed at a laptop screen. "Grandma Kane escaped FBI custody. Twenty minutes ago."

"How?"

"She used her gift on the arresting officers. Made them unlock her handcuffs and walk away."

"Where is she now?"

"Unknown. But she left a message." Marcus turned the laptop toward us.

The screen showed text: "Iris has twenty-four hours to surrender. Or I start killing one family member per hour. Starting with the weakest."

"The weakest?" Iris whispered.

Then we heard it. A phone ringing.

Iris's phone. The one she'd left on the table.

She answered on speaker. "Hello?"

"Hello, sweetheart." Grandma's voice was cold and sharp. "Did you get my message?"

"What do you want?"

"I want what I've always wanted. You. Your power. Your complete obedience."

"I'll never obey you."

"We'll see. I'm sending you a video. Watch it carefully."

The call ended. A video message appeared.

Iris opened it with shaking hands.

The video showed Aunt Elena's apartment. Empty. But there was blood on the floor.

"No," Elena gasped.

The camera panned to show a message written in blood: "She was here. You're next."

"She's bluffing," Marcus said. "That could be anyone's blood."

"It's mine," Elena said quietly. "Look at the wall."

We looked. A family photo hung there. One I recognized from years ago.

"She was in my apartment today. While I was here."

"Then she knows this location," Dad said.

"Impossible. I checked everyone for tracking devices."

"She doesn't need devices. She has gifts we haven't seen yet."

Iris's phone rang again.

"Impressed?" Grandma asked. "I've been tracking Elena through her own memories. Every place she's been, I can find."

"That's impossible," Elena said.

"Not when you're as strong as me. Now, Iris, here's the deal. You come to me willingly, or I hunt down everyone you love. Starting with sweet Elena."

"Touch her and I'll kill you."

"Brave words. But you're not a killer, dear. Not yet."

"I killed a Volkov when I was five."

Silence. Then Grandma laughed. "So you remember that? Good. Then you know you have it in you. The question is, do you have enough to save your family?"

"What do you want me to do?"

"Come to the old Kane Manor. Alone. In three hours. If you bring anyone, they die instantly."

"And if I come alone?"

"Then we have a conversation. About your future. About power. About everything you could become."

"I'll think about it."

"Don't think too long. The clock is ticking."

The call ended.

Everyone started talking at once.

"You can't go," I said.

"She'll kill Elena," Iris replied.

"She might kill you!"

"Then at least I died trying to save someone instead of hiding."

"This isn't about bravery. It's about survival."

"Maybe I'm tired of just surviving."

We stared at each other. The room went quiet.

"There has to be another way," Dad said finally.

"Like what?" Iris asked. "We tried running. We tried hiding. We tried fighting. Nothing works against her."

"Because she's always three steps ahead," Ian said. "She knows what we'll do before we do it."

"Then we do something unpredictable," I said. "Something she won't see coming."

"Such as?"

An idea formed in my mind. Dangerous. Possibly insane. But it might work.

"We give her what she wants," I said slowly.

"What?" everyone said together.

"We send Iris to Kane Manor. But not alone. We send her with backup she won't detect."

"How?" Marcus asked.

"Elena, can you put someone to sleep with your gift? Make them appear dead?"

"For a few hours, yes. Why?"

"Because I'm going with Iris. Hidden inside her mind."

Everyone stared at me like I'd lost it.

"That's impossible," Dad said.

"No. It's not. Iris and I have a connection. When we're close, our minds link naturally. If I go deep enough into her consciousness, I become invisible to other psychics."

"That's incredibly dangerous," Elena warned. "If something goes wrong, you could be trapped in her mind forever."

"Or she could be trapped in mine."

"I'm willing to risk it," Iris said.

"I'm not," I replied. "But I'm doing it anyway."

"Alex—"

"No arguments. You're not facing her alone."

For once, she didn't fight me.

We spent the next two hours preparing. Elena taught me how to merge my consciousness with Iris's. Ian helped strengthen our connection.

It was the strangest feeling. Like drowning and flying simultaneously.

When I opened my eyes, I was seeing through Iris's eyes. Feeling what she felt. Thinking alongside her thoughts.

"Can you hear me?" I thought at her.

"Loud and clear. This is weird."

"Tell me about it. I can taste what you're tasting."

"Sorry about the coffee breath."

Despite everything, I laughed inside her mind.

Dad drove us to within a mile of Kane Manor. Then Iris walked alone, with me hidden inside her consciousness.

The mansion looked exactly like I remembered. Dark. Imposing. Dangerous.

Grandma waited at the entrance.

"Iris. I knew you'd come."

"Let's get this over with."

"No need to be rude. Come inside. We have much to discuss."

We followed her into a large room. Empty except for two chairs.

"Sit," Grandma commanded.

Iris sat. I felt her fear through our connection.

"Now then," Grandma said. "Let's talk about your future."

"I don't have a future with you."

"Of course you do. You just don't see it yet."

Grandma leaned forward. "I can make you the most powerful person in the world. Teach you things no one else knows. Give you everything."

"I don't want power."

"Everyone wants power. They just don't admit it."

"I'm not everyone."

"No. You're special. Which is why I need you."

"For what?"

"To end the war between gifted and normal humans. To create a new world where people like us rule."

"By force?"

"By necessity. Normal humans fear what they don't understand. They'll destroy us if we don't control them first."

"That's insane."

"That's survival."

Iris stood up. "I'm leaving."

"No, you're not."

Grandma's eyes went strange. Unfocused.

She was using her gift. Trying to control Iris's mind.

But she found me instead.

"What? Who—" Grandma's face twisted. "Torrino? You're in her head?"

"Surprise," I said, pulling out of hiding.

I burst from Iris's mind into my own body. The sensation was like being born again.

I stood up, gun drawn. "Game over."

"You think a gun scares me?"

"No. But maybe fifty FBI agents do."

I pressed a button on my watch. A signal.

Within seconds, agents poured through every door and window.

"You're under arrest," Dad said, stepping forward. "Again."

Grandma laughed. "You really think you've won?"

"I know we have."

"Do you? Then explain this."

She pulled out a remote. Just like before.

"Another bomb?" Iris asked.

"Better. This is connected to your brother Ian's heart."

My blood froze.

"That's right. While you were planning your clever trap, I was planting a device in his chest. One push of this button, and his heart stops."

"You're bluffing," I said.

"Am I? Ask him yourself."

Dad spoke into his radio. "Ian, report."

Silence.

"Ian?"

Elena's voice came through. "Robert, get back here. Ian collapsed. There's something attached to his heart. We can't remove it without killing him."

Grandma smiled. "So. New deal. You let me walk out of here, or Ian dies. Your choice."

The FBI agents looked at each other. At Dad. At me.

Nobody moved.

"Ten seconds," Grandma said. "Then I press the button."

"Wait," Iris said. "I'll go with you. Just save Ian."

"Iris, no," I said.

"It's the only way."

"There's always another way."

"Not this time."

She started walking toward Grandma.

That's when Marco burst through the door.

"Boss! We have a problem!"

"Not now, Marco!"

"It's Enzo. He's at the hideout. With fifty armed men. He says if you don't return Iris immediately, he's declaring war on everyone."

My father. Of course.

"Five seconds," Grandma counted.

Everything was falling apart.

Iris stood between Grandma and me, torn between saving her brother and staying safe.

"Four seconds."

Dad had his gun on Grandma but couldn't shoot without killing Ian.

"Three seconds."

Marco looked at me, waiting for orders.

"Two seconds."

I met Iris's eyes across the room.

"One second."

"Stop!" I shouted. "I'll make you a deal."

Grandma's finger hovered over the button. "I'm listening."

"You want power? I'll give you power. The Torrino family's resources. Our weapons. Our connections. Everything."

"In exchange for what?"

"In exchange for letting everyone go. Ian lives. Iris goes free. This ends now."

"Alex, no," Iris said.

"It's done."

Grandma considered. "Interesting. But how do I know you'll keep your word?"

"Because I'm choosing my family over my pride. Something you'd never understand."

She studied me for a long moment.

Then smiled.

"Deal. With one condition."

"What?"

"Iris marries into the family officially. A real wedding. Witnessed by both sides. Binding you to us forever."

"We're already married."

"That was forced. This will be chosen. She stays with you willingly, or Ian dies anyway."

She was backing us into a corner. Making us choose between love and death.

I looked at Iris. "It's your choice. I won't force you."

She looked at Ian dying at the hideout. At Grandma's finger on the button. At me standing between her and a life of freedom.

"Okay," she said quietly. "I'll do it. I'll stay."

"Wise choice."

Grandma lowered the remote. "You have one week to plan the wedding. If you try to run—"

"We won't run."

"Good. Because next time, I won't be so generous."

She walked out, FBI agents parting to let her go.

Dad looked at me with fury and disappointment. "You just gave her everything."

"I saved everyone."

"You doomed everyone."

Maybe he was right.

But as Iris walked over and took my hand, I knew I'd make the same choice again.

"This will destroy us both," I whispered.

She squeezed my hand.

"I don't care."