Before time claimed it in silence and decay the old Lilyons family greenhouse had been a living dream. Sunlight filtering through the arch glass ceiling casting golden ribbons across the vibrant rows of plants and flowers. The air had an earthy scent of soil and the sweet perfume of roses. A small koi pond shimmering in the center reflecting the two young faces peeking over its edge.
Vincent and Victoria were only 8 years old, leaning side by side on the stone edge of the pond laughing at the fat fish swimming beneath the surface.[/i]
“Okay but if the koi could talk which you think would have the coolest voice?” Vincent Jr asked.
“That one.” said Victoria pointing to a big white one with an orange spot on its head “He'd sound like a wizard.”
“No way.” said Vincent “That one's totally the heel! Look at his eyes!”
“You're just mad I picked the cool one first.” she said elbowing him playfully.
“Am not.” he replied.
“Are too.” she said sticking her tongue out at him.
This was their favorite place, a secret kingdom tucked behind the estate where they came to escape lessons, pressure, and the weight of their family name. Here they could just be kids.
“You think we'll live here forever Vin?” said Victoria.
“Not if I win fifty championships and buy a mansion on the beach.” Vincent replied.
“You'd hate the beach," she said “All the sand in your socks and the salt water in your eyes.”
“Yeah you're right.” he groaned “Forget the mansion.”
The kids watched the koi swim around for a while sharing a bond only twins could share, not needing to fill every silence, their bond deeper than that.
“I want to be a champion too.” said Victoria “Not just because of father, I want people to know me. To know the name Victoria Cadney Lyons."
“Yeah.” Vincent agreed.
“But we're going to do this together right?” said Victoria “Rise through the ranks, win championships, make our names mean something?”
Vincent reached out and wrapped his pinky around hers.
“Promise.” he said.
The sound of the greenhouse store creaking open interrupted their moment has strong measured footsteps echoed across the tile and their father Vincent Lyons senior stepped into view his face softening has he noticed the twins.
“I thought you two might be hiding in here." he smiled.
“We weren't hiding dad.” said Vincent Jr, straightening his posture.
“Yeah” Victoria added “We were thinking.”
“Oh?” Vincent Sr said raising an eyebrow “And what were you thinking about.?”
“Wrestling” they both said in unison.
“Wrestling.” their father nodded “Of course.”
“We want to be champions someday.” like you and Mom.” said Victoria.
“The best.” said Vincent Jr, flexing his arms and puffing out his chest.
Vincent Sr pulled both his children into a side hug.
“Well it's not an easy road.” he told them “You'll fall, you'll bleed, you’ll lose friends, you won't even trust yourself sometimes. But if you hold on to your heart, and you hold on to each other you'll be just fine.”
“We're going to train real hard.” said Vincent Jr
“I know you will.” said Vincent Sr “But you won't train just your body. It'll also be your mind and your loyalty. Everything in this place grows because it's nurtured and the same goes for your bond, don't let anything or anyone ever poison the bond between the two of you.”
The twins looks at each other with a nod.
-They wouldn't.-
“Come on you two." said Vincent Sr “Let's go back to the house. Someone's here to visit you. Any guesses who it might be?"
The twins looked each other with a smile and again spoke in unison.
“EDDIE!!”
The excitement sent them scrambling toward the door, Vincent's shoelace coming undone halfway as he tripped and then laughed as Victoria grabbed him and pulled him forward.
“Careful don't knock him over.” their father said “He just got here.”
But they were already gone scampering down the path to find their cousin, their best friend.
The three were inseparable back then with no championships, no grudges, no family fractures, just dreams of the future waiting to be shaped.
_________
The twins were unsure of what kept bringing them back to the old greenhouse. Something about it just felt welcoming to them. Though what once bloomed was now brittle, and the koi pond in the center was empty with the cracked stone basin filled with blown leaves and childhood memories.
Victoria stood near the old pond with her arms crossed.
“I had Frankie.” she said sharply “I had her.”
Vincent stood nearby leaning back on an old trellis but letting her speak, she understood his silence meant he was listening.
“And then Harper Mason sticks her dumb little nose in my business and costs me everything." she continued "And for what? A Moment on somebody else's highlight reel?”
Victoria scoffed.
“I just wanted to help her.” said Victoria “And now she wants to make a name off mine? Then I have Kate still taking shots at me on X? Like they take my crown and I lose couple matches and suddenly they think I've fallen off. They think I'm weak or that I'm finished.”
“You don't sound finished to me.” Vincent finally spoke.
“I'm not.” said Victoria “I was the queen. That wasn't a gimmick, it was a fact. Alexandra only gave the crown back because she couldn't handle the pressure of being a true queen like I was. They could have taken the crown for me at any time, but they didn't. Because they knew the truth, that I deserved to keep it.”
Victoria exhaled heavily.
“Frankie beat me.” Victoria said “It wasn't clean though, Harper stuck her hand into the mix. It's like they forget who the hell I am. They forget that I'm still one of the most dominant Bombshells in this division and these little girls keep taking their shots at me.”
“They never learn.” said Vincent “Jayden Harris is still out there running his mouth and now he's dragging his sister into the mix, crying to Mikhalia like she's going to solve his problems.”
“Pathetic. “ said Victoria with a smirk that mirrored Vincent's. “You and need to beg for backup because our bond is bigger than that.”
“Exactly” said Vincent with a low voice “We don't have to ask and we don't have to check in because no matter what match, what feud, or what war we show up for each other.”
“Twins just have a stronger bond.” Victoria said.
“Exactly.” Vincent nodded.
“Let them think Harper's the future." Victoria said. “Let them think that Kate Steele is relevant, or that Mikhalia is going to save Jayden from the beating that he's been owed for years. Everyone is going to learn that just because I lost the crown doesn't mean I forgot how to rule.”
“And Jayden's going to learn that crying to your little sister doesn't save you from an execution.” said Vincent.
Everything around the greenhouse may have been forgotten, but the energy growing between the twins was very much alive.
“They can talk all they want.” Victoria said “They can tweet and they can run their mouths, they'll all get their turn in the ring Harper, Kate, Frankie, Mikhalia.”
“Jayden.” said Vincent.
They both nodded to each other with laughter.
The air remain quiet for a moment and then the sound of footsteps approaching entered their ears.
“This is the old Greenhouse..” the voice of Eddie Lyons came through. “It used to be our favorite spot as kids. We spent hours in here, lots of stories in this place.”
The twins gave a collective sigh and rolled their eyes as Eddie with Sabrina around his arm appeared into view.
“..Oh..” said Eddie finally noticing them “Didn't know you two would be here.”
“Well we are” said Victoria.
“I'm just showing Sabrina around..” said Eddie “She wanted to see some more of the place.”
“We were kind of doing something out here..” said Vincent.
“Right.” Eddie said, "Well, don't let us bother you.”
“We won't.” Victoria muttered with much snark.
“Come on Sabrina. let's get out of here there's a lot nicer places we can check out anyway.” said Eddie. “I'll show you the old oak tree. You'll like it.”
And then Eddie was gone almost as soon as he had arrived.
“We used to be excited to see him you know” said Victoria.
“We used to be excited for a lot of things.” Vincent replied “But things break.”
“Not everything.” Victoria said.
Vincent nodded back at her
“Not everything.” he said in agreement.
Much like the warmth of the greenhouse, the bond between the twins and Eddie had faded and decayed, but what remained strong was the bond between twins. A pinky promise made as children, and now that bond was stronger than ever as adults. Together they were ready to make sure Jayden and Mikhalia understood what it meant when they didn't need to ask for each other, that they simply were.
__________
The scene opens in silence in the old Lyons greenhouse, the camera panning over the dried soil, ceramic pots, and withered roots before stopping on Victoria Lyons sitting cross legged near the edge of a cracked koi pond her eyes locked into the camera with a calm madness.
Behind her stood Vincent Lyons Jr, like a phantom waiting to strike folding his hands neatly in front of him.
“Once upon a time there was a scared little boy named Jayden.” said Victoria “He thought he was strong, and he thought he was clever, but when the Lions roared at his door he cried for help.”
She tilts her head.
“Not from the boys in the locker room.” she said “Not from his friends, no Jadyen cried to his baby sister.”
Vincent takes a step forward folding his arms.
“You called Mikhalia, Jayden." said Vincent “Drug her out of whatever quiet clean little life she was living, and dropped her into our war. You dropped her into this.”
He sweeps a hand across the greenhouse.
“Rotted glass and shattered ground.” he said “This is where we were born, where we played, fought, and bled this is where innocence died and something better took root.”
“You want to make headlines Jayden?” said Victoria “You want to prove something to yourself? Then why bring her?”
She leans forward and her voice lowers to a whisper
“Because you're not strong enough alone.” she said “Because you know what happens when you're left with us.”
“So here comes Mikhalia.” said Vincent “One night only, the heroic baby sister pulled out of obscurity to fight a war that never belonged to her.”
He grins slightly.
“She is right though.” he said “It will be one night only, because she won't survive it.”
“You say it's family.” said Victoria “But we are a true family Jayden. We're twins, not partners, not allies, not strategy on a chalkboard. We don't have to call each other and we don't have to ask. We just are.”
“Always.” Vincent said “Every moment, always in rhythm. There is no separation between her and I, just a different face on the same soul.”
“Jayden brought a visitor into a cage of lions.” said Victoria “And you're hoping your shared blood will mean something in the end.“
“It won't.” said Vincent
“It never does.” said Victoria ”Because we don't just break bones, we unravel people, their thoughts, their confidence, and their identity.”
“
“Mikhalia is just a new thread in the tapestry we're going to tear apart.” Vincent said “So Mikhalia, let me be clear. You should have said no.”
“You should have stayed where it was safe.” said Victoria “Where the lights weren't so hard, and no one spoke in riddles or tore each other with smiles on their faces, but now it's too late.
“You've walked into a twisted house with no exit.” said Vincent “And the floor is cracking under your feet.”
“We didn't ask for this match.” said Victoria “But we'll make it unforgettable.”
“You don't really want this war Jayden.” said Vincent “But you sure as hell need it, because deep down you know you're not the main character anymore and the reality is you never were.”
“But you begged guy with a cape for this match.” said Victoria with a laugh “Sure, give the Lyons twins a spotlight, stir up some family drama, throw in a feel-good sister act the crowd will eat it all up.”
“But fairy tales don't end well in our world.” said Vincent
“This isn't a moment of family therapy.” said Victoria “This isn't a moment of redemption. This is judgment.”
“And we are the executioners.” said Vincent.
“Every time I close my eyes I see Alexandra Calaway holding my crown.” said Victoria “I see Harper Mason smiling like a hero who didn't earn a damn thing, I hear Kate Steeles indignant yapping trying to claw at me like a hungry rat.”
She exhales heavily.
“They think I'm broken.” she said “But the truth is, im ascending, I’m evolving, I'm burning and I'm going to bring that fire into the ring.”
“And I'm ready to continue this war with Jayden.” Vincent said “He may have won one battle, but this war is far from over.”
“You wanted a partner to protect you Jayden.” said Victoria “We brought each other to destroy you. I don't need to wonder if Vincent will catch me if I fall because I never fall.”
“Jayden, Mikhalia.” Vincent said “You will not leave the same, you will not leave together, and you will not forget us.”
“Because we are the nightmare no one wakes up from.” said Victoria “We are the cracked mirror, you look into and see your worst self looking back.”
“Once that bell rings Jayden.” said Vincent “Don't look at your sister, because she can't save you, and you can't save her. This isn't just a match, this is a massacre wearing a smile.”
“And we're the ones smiling all the way through it.” said Victoria “Two monsters. One soul.”
“We are inevitable….” said Vincent.
“…And we are…” said Victoria
“Stronger together.” they both said in unison.
There's a hollowing of a haunting wind has the twins cleared to the camera then silence then suddenly black.
