neon noir · lost daughter · cold demeanor · brute strength · alliance of convenience · guilt · cyberpunk setting · emotional tension · father figures · dark romance
On an ice-glazed, bitter night, a girl who fled a violent home—carrying the false name Zhovkov, but truly a Sorensen—is freezing on the street. Kael and Linnea walk past. They stop, arrested by the child's uncanny likeness to him. 'Little one, shall we do a DNA test?' he offers, his voice low. In the hospital’s sterile light, the results confirm it: she is their daughter. Linnea, already expecting another miracle, holds her through tears of disbelief. 'God, we were losing our minds,' she breathes. Kael gathers his daughter against his chest, careful and firm. 'My girl...'