Aiden Lancaster woke to stillness.
Not the sterile quiet of ONYX interfaces or the muted hush of an overdesigned room—but something softer. Human. For a moment, he didn't move.
His mind, so used to running simulations before his eyes even opened, found nothing to correct.
No alerts. No calculations.
Residual warmth lingered in the sheets—subtle, human, like the echo of a presence Avalon hadn't coded.
Its engineered fabric had recalibrated overnight to his posture and pressure points.
Not clingy. Not clumsy. Just precise.
It released him the moment he stirred, spiraling away from his legs with silent, deliberate ease.
It was the best sleep he'd had since arriving.
That fact alone unsettled him.
Because nothing in Avalon had ever come without resistance. Every moment until now had been strategy, calculation, adaptation. The idea that he could sleep—deeply, easily—meant something had shifted.
Either the system was softening toward him,
Or worse—he was starting to let his guard down.
The suite was still dark, the blackout membrane fully drawn—except for a narrow strip of light above the skylight, which Aiden had quietly overridden minutes earlier.
Just enough to see.
To think.
Across the bed, Aria was still asleep—half-buried in silk and engineered linen, her arm resting lightly across her brow, her posture effortless, composed even in sleep.
She hadn't stirred once since the system dimmed. She needed the rest—after everything.
Her breathing was steady.
Untouched by the storm that had already woken him.
The gold thread in her sleepwear caught the faint light he'd allowed in, gleaming quietly like she belonged in a place neither of them fully trusted.
Aiden sat up slowly. No messages blinked on his ONYX band. No system chimes.
The system was still in silent mode—nothing would activate until it registered his wake sequence.
He could've overridden it.
But he didn't.
The quiet held.
He stood, stretched once, and crossed the room in silence. The suite looked different in the morning—less like a polished construct, more like a space momentarily unobserved.
No mess. No disorder.
Just silence, still holding its breath.
And there—on the obsidian side table near the far corner—were the two Golden Keys.
Identical in size. Flawless. Motionless.
Side by side.
Aiden paused in front of them.
They looked the same at first glance—brushed gold alloy, mirror-finished, immaculate.
But in the softened light, something caught his eye.
Not on the front.
On the back—just above the Lancaster crest, etched in micro-relief.
One held a delicate crescent arc—shaped like the rising edge of a sun, curved inward as if drawn to the center.
YOU ARE READING
Valmont Series - Inheritance Code
Teen FictionWhat if your perfect life was just a rehearsal? On their twelfth birthday, Aria and Aiden Lancaster wake expecting luxury, freedom, and the future they were promised. Instead, they're given an ultimatum: Leave everything behind - their friends, thei...
