Footsteps behind her.
Elara turned.
Duke Romian stood in the archive entrance, still in military uniform despite the late hour.
"I wondered if you'd find that," he said quietly.
"You knew I'd investigate you."
"I would have been disappointed if you hadn't." He walked closer, looking at the scattered documents. "You found the gap in the records."
"Your daughter. Born forty years ago. Disappeared from all official documentation shortly after birth." Elara met his eyes. "Where is she?"
Duke Romian was quiet for a long moment. Then he pulled out a chair and sat down heavily.
"She's alive," he said finally. "Hidden. Protected. And the reason I never remarried for forty years."
"Explain."
