In a ruthless matriarchy where vows of celibacy bind power and only daughters inherit legacy, a disgraced operative trades her unborn child—and a kidney—for survival, binding herself to a warlord’s desperate conspiracy that could topple the Oracle who sees all.

SYNOPSIS:

In the sterile dawn of a fortified hospital, Anastasia, a 30-something enforcer sworn to celibacy, confronts the ultimate breach: an unplanned pregnancy. Her superior, Kaida Morwen—a 40-something military predator and last of her line—offers a chilling fix. The Order erases “complications.” Anastasia refuses to let her daughter pay for her lapse. Kaida counters with a darker bargain: claim duress, surrender the child, and gain a covert ally who operates beyond the law.

Two trimesters later, Anastasia awakens hollow. Kaida tosses an envelope—“payment for your kidney.” Natural birth leaves traces; surgery does not. The child is gone, repurposed. Anastasia learns her cousin Natasha, Minister of War, has arrived for ceasefire talks—secretly to deliver Kaida’s own heir.

In the hallway, grief detonates. Bailey Holiday, a nervous aide, reveals Natasha bled out from an aneurysm mid-labor. The boy died; a girl survived—underweight, misreported. Kaida smashes plaster, then orders congratulations to Natalia Romanov, Natasha’s furious sister, on the “continuation of her line.” Natalia storms in, demanding answers: males don’t carry legacies. Bailey deflects; the truth is surgical sleight-of-hand.

Enter Brigida, the 60-something Valkyrie Oracle—regal, lethal, untouchable. She glides into Anastasia’s room, fingers the hidden incision, and murmurs of drugs that blind even Oracle sight—possession means execution. Anastasia pledges loyalty to Kaida; Brigida approves. Protection for the rising star is sanctioned.

Outside, Brigida corners a shattered Kaida. “I know exactly what you’ve done.” Silence costs one favor—no questions, no warning. Kaida, cornered and bound, exhales into the abyss.

The hospital hums. Machines tick. Somewhere, a newborn Romanov breathes—proof of a lie that could unravel the Matriarchy. The Oracle is coming. The favor is coming. And in this world, daughters are currency, bodies are leverage, and no secret stays buried when the seer demands her due.

THE COST OF SUCCESS