THE QUEEN OF THE BLACK RAVENS

 Because a man stood near the entrance, I had never seen him before. Tall. Broad shoulders. Dressed in an expensive black suit. And somehow, despite never seeing him before in my life, I knew he wasn't there for coffee. He was there for me. The stranger's eyes locked onto mine, and something cold settled in my stomach. "Aria," Isabella whispered, her face pale. "We need to leave." I frowned. "Who is he?" Before she could answer, the man started walking toward us. Jaxon immediately stepped in front of me. "Stay behind me." I almost laughed. Twenty-four hours ago, I would have found his protectiveness comforting. Now, it only made me angry. "I can stand on my own, Jaxon." He looked like he wanted to argue, but before he could, the stranger stopped in front of our table. For several seconds, he simply stared at me. Then he smiled. "Miss Hayes." I stiffened. "Do I know you?" "No." His smile widened slightly. "But your mother knew me." Every muscle in my body froze. "My mother?" The man nodded. "My name is Adrian Cross." The name meant nothing to me. "Should it mean something?" His expression changed. "Apparently not." I glanced at Isabella. She looked terrified. "What is going on?" "Not here," she whispered. Adrian ignored her. "I've spent years looking for you, Aria." I felt Jaxon tense beside me. "Looking for her, why?" he demanded. Adrian's gaze shifted to him. "And you are?" "Jaxon Knight." Recognition flashed across Adrian's face. "The boyfriend." I looked away. "Ex-boyfriend." The awkward silence that followed was almost painful. Adrian turned back to me. "May we talk privately?" "No." The answer came from both Jaxon and Isabella. Adrian sighed. "I expected this reaction." I folded my arms. "I think you should start explaining." He reached inside his jacket. Jaxon immediately stepped forward. "Easy," Adrian said calmly, pulling out an old photograph. My heart stopped. It was another picture of my mother. She couldn't have been older than twenty. She stood between two people. One was a younger version of Adrian. The other... I frowned. The woman looked exactly like me. Same dark hair. Same eyes. Same smile. "What is this?" Adrian looked directly at me. "That's your mother." I pointed to the second woman. "Then who's she?" Silence. A horrible feeling settled in my chest. "Who is she?" Adrian hesitated. "My daughter." I stared at him. "What?" He swallowed. "Your twin sister." The world stopped. I laughed. I actually laughed. Because this had to be some joke. "I don't have a sister." Adrian's expression softened. "You did." My heart dropped. "Did?" Pain filled his eyes. "Her name was Amelia." I couldn't breathe. Nobody had ever mentioned a twin. Not once. I looked at Jaxon. He looked just as shocked as I felt. I turned back to Adrian. "You're lying." "I wish I were." "Why would my parents keep something like that from me?" Adrian looked away. "Because Amelia disappeared sixteen years ago." Silence. Complete silence. I stared at him. "Disappeared?" He nodded. "She was taken." Every instinct in my body screamed that I wasn't going to like where this conversation was heading. "Taken by who?" Adrian remained silent. I laughed bitterly. "Everyone in my life seems to enjoy keeping secrets." "Aria," Isabella whispered. "Maybe we should go." "No." I looked directly at Adrian. "I want the truth." He sighed heavily. "The night Amelia disappeared, your mother blamed herself." My chest tightened. "Why?" "Because she was supposed to be watching both of you." I felt sick. My mother had carried that guilt for years. Alone. "After Amelia disappeared, your mother cut ties with everyone." I frowned. "Everyone?" Adrian nodded. "My family. Isabella's family. Everyone." "Why?" His answer shattered me. "Because she believed one of us was responsible." I stared at him. "You think someone kidnapped my sister?" Adrian looked exhausted. "We know someone did." The café suddenly felt too small. Too crowded. Too loud. I pushed away from the table. "I need air." "Aria-" I ignored Jaxon and walked outside. Cold air hit my face immediately. None of this made sense. A twin sister. A kidnapping. More secrets. How much more could one person take? The café door opened behind me. I knew without turning around that it was Jaxon. "You shouldn't be alone right now." I laughed humorlessly. "Funny. I've never been more alone." He was silent. After a moment, he spoke again. "I know you hate me." "I don't hate you." My voice cracked. "I just wish you'd loved me enough to tell me the truth." The silence that followed hurt more than words. "I'm sorry," he whispered. I closed my eyes. "I know." For the first time since yesterday, we stood together without arguing. It almost felt normal. Almost. Then a car screeched to a stop across the street. Both Jaxon and I turned. A black SUV. Dark-tinted windows. My stomach dropped. Because a woman was standing beside the vehicle. A woman who looked exactly like me. And when our eyes met, she smiled. "Hello, Aria," she called. "I've been looking for you." My entire world tilted. Because the woman standing across the street was supposed to be dead, I couldn't move. I couldn't breathe. I just stood there staring at the woman across the street. She looked exactly like me. Same dark hair. Same eyes. Same height. It was like looking into a mirror. "Aria?" Jaxon's voice sounded distant. "What's wrong?" I slowly raised a trembling hand and pointed. Jaxon followed my gaze. I felt him freeze beside me. "What the hell..." he whispered. The woman smiled again. Then, to my horror, she started walking toward us. Every instinct in my body screamed at me to run. But my feet refused to move. "This isn't possible," I whispered. "Aria, get back inside," Jaxon said immediately, stepping in front of me. "No." I pushed past him. I needed answers. The woman stopped a few feet away. For several seconds, neither of us spoke. We stared at each other. Finally, she smiled sadly. "You really don't remember me, do you?" I swallowed hard. "Should I?" Pain flashed across her face. "I guess not." My heart was racing so fast it hurt. "Who are you?" The woman looked down before meeting my eyes again. "My name is Amelia." The world stopped. Behind me, I heard Jaxon curse softly. "No," I whispered, shaking my head. "No, that's impossible." Tears filled her eyes. "I know this is hard to believe." "My twin sister disappeared sixteen years ago." Amelia gave me a broken smile. "I know." I stared at her. "You're supposed to be dead." "So was I." Silence. Heavy. Painful. I didn't know what to think. I didn't know what to feel. Yesterday, my biggest problem had been losing Jaxon. Today, I discovered that I had a twin sister. A sister everyone believed was dead. "Where have you been?" I whispered. Amelia opened her mouth to answer. Suddenly, a gunshot rang out. Everything happened at once. Jaxon tackled me to the ground. People started screaming. Cars screeched. And when I looked back toward Amelia... She was gone.