The footsteps above grew louder—measured, cold, unmistakably Hayden.
Ana froze, heart slamming against her ribs as if it, too, feared what would happen next.
The man stepped toward her, expression calm despite the rising tension. "He'll kill me if he sees me here."
"He'll do worse if he thinks I lied to him."
He gave her a sad smile. "Then don't lie. Just don't tell him everything."
A key turned in the lock above. Ana spun, her mind racing.
*What do I do?*
Sofia stepped forward silently, slipping a tiny dagger into Ana's hand. "Just in case," she whispered.
Then she vanished into the shadows—too smart to be found in the middle of what was coming.
Hayden appeared in the doorway.
His eyes swept the room. They didn't stop on her. They didn't stop on the man. They stopped on the note still clutched in her hand—crumpled and forgotten, but visible.
"Ana," he said, voice flat, unreadable. "What are you doing in the cellar?"
She swallowed. "He came to speak to me. He says he knew my mother."
Hayden's gaze shifted to the man. "What a brave man," he murmured, stepping down one stair, then another.
The stranger didn't move.
"Your guards are good," the man said, voice calm. "But not perfect. I came alone."
"Impressive," Hayden said. "And stupid."
Ana stepped between them.
"Hayden—"
"No," he said quietly, eyes locked on the man's. "You don't walk into my home, speak to *my* wife, and think you'll leave the same way."
"Your wife?" the man said, scoffing. "She looks more like a prisoner."
Hayden's expression didn't change. "You have five seconds to explain why I shouldn't put a bullet in your skull."
"Because she deserves to know who her mother really was," the man replied.
Hayden pulled a gun from his waistband in one smooth motion.
Ana stepped in front of him. "Stop."
"Move," Hayden ordered, voice low and furious.
"No."
He stared at her, unblinking. "Ana. Move."
"She's my mother," she said. "And this man might be the only person who can tell me the truth. If you kill him, that truth dies with him."
His jaw clenched, but he didn't fire.
Instead, he lowered the gun slowly, then turned his icy gaze on the man again. "You have two minutes. Say anything I don't like, and I *will* kill you."
The stranger nodded.
"She wasn't always who you think she was," he said to Ana. "Before she married your father, she worked with us—inside the resistance. A secret network trying to expose the Nicholas empire for what it really was."
Ana's breath caught.
"That fire that killed Hayden's mother?" he continued. "It wasn't a mafia hit. It was a failed mission. Your mother tried to stop the bomb from being planted. She was too late."
Hayden stepped forward. "You're lying."
The man shook his head. "She tried to save her. Your mother and hers… they weren't enemies. They were friends. Until everything went wrong."
Ana turned to Hayden, stunned.
"Is this true?" she whispered.
His face was unreadable. "I don't know."
"You've spent your whole life planning revenge—on the daughter of the man who *killed* your mother."
"And you think this changes that?" he asked coldly. "She still lied. Still married into Nicholas blood."
Ana turned back to the man. "Where's my mother now?"
"Dead," he said. "Five years ago. But she left you something. A journal. I've hidden it. I came to give you the location."
Hayden raised the gun again.
"No!" Ana shouted. "You promised."
"I said I wouldn't shoot him for talking," Hayden replied, eyes still fixed on the man. "But he doesn't leave this villa."
The stranger nodded. "I didn't expect to. Just let her read the journal. Then decide if you still want to keep her in a cage."
He reached slowly into his coat and handed Ana a small piece of paper. Coordinates.
Then he held up his hands. "Do what you must."
Hayden didn't fire. Not yet. But he turned to Ana and said only one thing:
"Go upstairs."
She didn't move.
"I said go."
She met his eyes. "Will he live?"
Hayden's silence was her answer.
Tears stung her eyes, but she obeyed—turning, heart splintering, walking away as the door closed behind her and the weight of the truth sank in.
Nothing was as it seemed.
Not even her mother.
And not even Hayden.