I barely had time to explain my diabolical "best friend" plan to Mera and Cheon when my phone lit up again. I’d turned the ringer off, but the screen still illuminated with an incoming FaceTime call.

"Fuck," I muttered, seeing the name displayed.

Mera peered over. "Who’s Vivi?"

"My sister." I stared at the phone like it might explode. It probably would, metaphorically speaking.

"Are you going to answer it?" Cheon asked.

"I’d rather gargle glass." But I picked up the phone anyway. Some calls you just don’t ignore, unless you want worse problems later.

I swiped to accept, and Vivian Angelo’s face filled my screen. She looked exactly as I remembered from the bits of the novel I’d skimmed—angular cheekbones that mirrored my own, long white hair pulled into a severe ponytail, and heterochromatic eyes matching mine but reversed: left eye gray, right eye green.

The perfect female version of me, if I’d been born with a god complex and zero impulse control.

"Ro Ro!" she squealed with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "There’s my favorite little brother!"

"I’m your only brother, Vivi."

"That’s what makes you my favorite!" She leaned closer to the camera, her executive office visible behind her. "Now, care to explain why you’re all over Century City news using unregistered abilities to play superhero at a convenience store?"

I kept my face neutral. "No idea what you’re talking about."

"Don’t lie to me, Rome." Her voice dropped an octave, the sugary tone vanishing. "I’ve been covering for you since we were children. I deserve better."

Mera raised an eyebrow at me, mouthing "covering for you?"

I ignored her. "I wasn’t playing superhero. I was buying groceries when some assholes tried to rob the place."

"And you just happened to stretch your arm like rubber and create portals?" Vivian’s eyes narrowed. "Since when do you have multiple abilities? Your file says adaptive-type, but that’s recent, isn’t it?"

"I’m full of surprises."

"Clearly." Her gaze shifted slightly. "And who are these lovely creatures with you? Introduce me to your... friends."

I angled the phone so Vivian could see Mera and Cheon properly. "Vivian, meet Mera and Cheon. They’re my girlfriends."

"Girlfriends?" Vivian’s perfectly sculpted eyebrow arched higher. "Plural? My, my, Ro Ro, you’ve been busy."

"Hi!" Mera waved with faux innocence. "Nice to meet Rome’s sister!"

"Pleasure," Cheon said with perfect politeness.

Vivian’s smile was sharp enough to cut glass. "The pleasure is all mine. It’s so nice to see my brother keeping... company."

I felt Cheon stiffen beside me. Before she could say something regrettable, I shifted the conversation. "What do you want, Vivi? I know this isn’t a social call."

"So direct. I’ve always liked that about you." She sighed dramatically. "I’m on my way to meet with Father right now, actually. Someone needs to handle your little PR disaster before it impacts share prices."

"Let me guess—you volunteered?"

"Of course I did." Her smile widened. "I always clean up your messes, don’t I, Ro Ro?"

The nickname grated every time she used it. In my past life, I’d have told her exactly where she could shove that nickname, but Rome D’Angelo was supposed to have a different relationship with his sister—one I hadn’t fully grasped yet.

"So what’s the plan?" I asked instead. "How are you spinning this?"

"Oh, that’s the easy part." Vivian waved a manicured hand. "We’re leaning into it. The Angelo heir showing his heroic nature, saving innocent civilians with his newly manifested abilities. The timing is suspicious, but Father’s lawyers will handle the NEA inquiries."

That matched what Mera had suggested. Maybe she and Vivian would get along.

A terrifying thought.

"The interesting part," Vivian continued, eyes gleaming, "is your Essentia. Multiple distinct signatures? Father will want a full briefing on that." She leaned closer to the camera. "But I’m more interested in where you got them."

I felt Mera and Cheon tense on either side of me.

"That’s my business," I replied coolly.

"Everything about you is my business, little brother." Something possessive flashed across her face. "We’re Angelos. We don’t have secrets from each other."

Mera’s tail tightened around my wrist—a warning.

"Some things are private, Vivi."

"Nothing is private in this family." Her voice hardened. "I’ve seen the school’s Battle Trial footage, you know. That stepping disc ability looks remarkably similar to your red girlfriend’s. And the gravity manipulation? That wasn’t in your file at all."

Fuck. If she’d seen the footage, that meant Father had too.

"I’m an adaptive-type," I said smoothly. "I adapt to what’s around me."

"That’s not how adaptive-types work, and we both know it." She tilted her head, studying me. "But whatever you’ve done, I have to admit—it’s impressive. Look at my little Ro Ro, getting so strong with such a powerful Essentia."

The way she said it made my skin crawl. Like she was proud of a pet that had learned a new trick.

"Father will want tests, of course," she continued. "Private ones, conducted by our research division. Your abilities could have significant applications for the company."

"I’m not a lab rat," I snapped.

"No, you’re an Angelo. And Angelos serve the family interests." Her smile returned, all teeth. "But maybe you can be saved from Father’s... scrutiny. If you’re willing to work with me instead."

And there it was. The real reason for the call.

"What do you want, Vivian?"

"Just your cooperation, brother dear. A full demonstration of your abilities for me personally. No researchers, no cameras." Her voice dropped to a purr. "Just us, like old times."

Old times? What the fuck had happened between these siblings?

"I’ll think about it," I replied noncommittally.

"Don’t think too long. My meeting with Father starts in twenty minutes, and I need to know whose side I’m taking before I walk in."

"I wasn’t aware this was a sides situation."

"Everything is a sides situation in our family." She smiled again, this time with something like genuine affection. "Call me after your classes tomorrow. We’ll discuss the details."

The call ended abruptly, leaving me staring at a black screen.

"Well," Mera said after a moment, "your sister seems nice."

I snorted. "Like a cobra seems cuddly."

"She called you Ro Ro," Cheon observed. "Multiple times."

"A childhood nickname I’ve never been able to shake," I grimaced. "She’s the only one who uses it."

"And what did she mean by ’covering for you’ and ’old times’?" Mera asked, her yellow eyes narrowing. "You two have history?"

"I mean she’s my sister."

"She looked at you like she owned you," Cheon said quietly. "Not like a sister looks at a brother."

"More like how I look at the last slice of pizza," Mera added.

Great. As if I didn’t have enough complications, now I had to worry about my possibly incestuous sister with an ownership complex.