Chapter 60: The Mark

Chapter 60: The Mark

The coin sat on the floor between them. It layed there looking cold, gleaming through the light and unforgiving.

Sophie stared at it, her chest was tight, her whole body trembling. She wanted to look away, but her eyes wouldn’t move. The silver circle seemed to pulse under the moonlight, her name carved into it so sharp it almost looked fresh.

SOPHIE.

It was her name, her life was at stake. Her warning.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. It felt like all the air had been ripped from the room.

Alex stepped forward slowly, his fists still curled from the fight, his jaw clenched. He bent down, picked up the coin, and held it in his hand like it was poison. His knuckles whitened around it.

Sophie finally found her voice, though it cracked as it left her throat. “That’s my name…”

Alex’s gaze lifted to her, steady and fierce. “I see it.”

Her knees wobbled, and she sank onto the edge of the bed, pressing a shaking hand to her chest. “Why? Why would they put my name? What does it mean?”

Alex didn’t answer right away. He stared at the coin like it was mocking him. “It means,” he said slowly, his voice low and heavy, “that they’re not just leaving warnings anymore. They’ve chosen you.”

The words made her stomach twist so hard she thought she might be sick. “Chosen me for what?”

He shook his head, his teeth gritted. “That’s the part I don’t know and that’s what terrifies me.”

The room felt too small, the walls too close. Sophie’s hands dug into the blankets at her sides. “This can’t be happening… I didn’t ask for any of this. I didn’t even know about the ledger until days ago!”

Alex crouched down in front of her, his hands bracing her knees gently. “Listen to me, Sophie. None of this is your fault. You hear me? None of it. They’ve been moving their pieces long before you ever stepped into this house.”

Her eyes burned with frustrated tears. “But why my name?”

Alex opened his mouth, then stopped. His eyes flicked to the door, his expression shifting.

Because Elizabeth was standing there.

Her pale robe floated behind her like a ghost. She stepped into the room without a word, her sharp gaze dropping instantly to the coin in Alex’s hand.

Her face went still. It looked too calm.

“You saw,” she said quietly. What you saw was not a question. It was a statement.

Sophie’s voice cracked. “It’s my name. My name! Why is it there?”

Elizabeth’s eyes lifted to hers. For the first time, there was something in them, not the usual cool detachment, not the superiority. It was something closer to regret.

“You weren’t supposed to see this,” Elizabeth whispered.

Anger flared hot in Sophie’s chest, cutting through her fear. She jumped to her feet, her hands fisting at her sides. “Stop saying that! Stop acting like I’m some child who can’t handle the truth! If my name is in their hands, if I’m being hunted, then I deserve to know why!”

Elizabeth’s lips pressed tight. She looked at Alex, then back at Sophie. Her shoulders lowered as if a heavy weight settled on her.

“You want the truth?” Elizabeth said slowly. “Then hear it. Your mother was one of us.”

Sophie froze. Her heartbeat stuttered. “…What?”

Elizabeth stepped closer, her voice low but clear. “Your mother wasn’t just some innocent woman who stumbled into this world. She knew the ledger. She knew the people in it. She worked with them at first. Then she tried to stop them. And that’s why her name appears in those pages.”

Sophie’s hands flew to her mouth. “No. No, that’s not true. My mom, she was kind. She was good. She baked cookies with me on Sundays and sang when she washed the dishes. She wasn’t… she wasn’t part of this!”

Elizabeth’s expression didn’t waver. “Even good people make choices that haunt them.”

Alex stepped in, his voice sharp. “Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

Elizabeth’s eyes flashed. “Because the past has teeth, Alex and if you dig too deep, it bites. But Sophie has already been marked. The coin proves it.”

Sophie shook her head furiously, her hair falling into her face. “No. No, I don’t believe you. My mom wasn’t like that. She…she wouldn’t.”

Elizabeth’s gaze softened, just a little. “Your mother tried to protect you. Everything she did, she did for you. And now, her choices are reaching for you from the grave.”

The words hit Sophie like ice water. She couldn’t breathe. She turned away, her body shaking, her fists clenching so hard her nails dug into her palms.

Alex touched her arm gently, grounding her. “Sophie. Look at me.”

Her tearful eyes lifted to his.

“You’re not her,” Alex said firmly. “Whatever your mother was part of, you’re not her. You have a choice. You’re not trapped by her past.”

Sophie swallowed hard, the tears finally spilling down her cheeks. She wanted to believe him. She wanted it to be that simple. But the coin burned in her mind.

She was marked. Her name carved into silver.

The enemy didn’t just know who she was. They wanted her.

The three of them sat around the study table an hour later. The coin lay in the center, the ledger beside it.

The lamplight made Sophie’s name gleam from the coin like a wound.

Alex leaned forward, his hands clasped tightly. “We don’t have time to argue about what’s true or not. We need to move. They’ve shown they can walk in and out of this house like it’s theirs. We can’t wait for them to make the next move.”

Elizabeth folded her arms, her face unreadable. “And what do you propose?”

“We copy the rest of the ledger tonight,” Alex said flatly. “Then we hide it somewhere even they can’t touch. The originals can stay here, but we need something they can’t erase. Every name, every number—we keep it alive.”

Elizabeth’s lips pursed, but she didn’t argue.

Sophie sat quietly, staring at her trembling hands. Finally, she spoke. “And me?”

Both of them looked at her.

Her voice wavered. “I’m marked now. If they come again, they won’t stop. What am I supposed to do? Just sit here and wait?”

Alex shook his head. “No. You learn how to fight back.”

She blinked at him. “Fight back?”

His jaw tightened. “I’ll teach you. Everything I know. You won’t be helpless again.”

Elizabeth arched a brow. “Training her will only paint the target brighter.”

Alex’s eyes cut to hers. “The target’s already there.”

Sophie looked between them, fear and determination warring inside her. Finally, she nodded. “Fine. Teach me.”

The next morning, the gardens of the Manor became their training ground. The air was cool, the grass was damp with dew. Sophie stood in front of Alex, her arms crossed, trying to mask her nerves.

Alex tossed her a wooden practice stick. “First rule. Don’t freeze. Fear is normal. Freezing gets you killed.”

Sophie gripped the stick, her palms already sweaty. “It’s easy for you to say.”

“Its not easy,” Alex corrected, his tone sharp. “I learned over the years. You’ll learn too.”

For the next hour, he drilled her. How to stand, how to hold her weapon, how to move her weight. Her arms ached, her legs wobbled, sweat beaded on her forehead. She stumbled more than once, and frustration bubbled in her chest.

At one point she threw the stick down. “I can’t do this!” she snapped, breathing hard.

Alex stepped close, picking it up and pressing it back into her hands. His voice was low but firm. “Yes, you can. Because you don’t have a choice anymore.”

Her chest rose and fell fast. She looked at him, saw the fire in his eyes, and something inside her sparked. Slowly, she tightened her grip on the stick.

“Again,” she whispered.

And again, they practiced.

Elizabeth watched from the terrace, her arms folded, her expression unreadable. But behind her eyes, something like worry flickered.

That night, Sophie collapsed onto her bed, every muscle aching. She stared at the ceiling, she was so tired from the endless training, but her mind wouldn’t quiet.

The coin was still on the desk in the study. Her name etched forever.

She thought of her mother, she thought of Elizabeth’s words, she thought of Alex’s steady promise.

And she whispered to herself, “I’m not going to run.”

But just as sleep finally tugged at her, the house creaked again.

This time, it wasn’t footsteps. It was a sound deeper, stranger like something scratching inside the walls.

She sat up slowly, her heart pounding. The scratching grew louder, closer.

And then…

From the crack near her window, a folded piece of paper slid into the room.

Her breath caught.

Hands shaking, she picked it up, unfolded it.

There, in jagged handwriting, were five words that made her blood run cold:

WE ALREADY HAVE YOUR FATHER.