The doorknob twisted.
Aria could not breathe. Her heart hammered so loudly she barely heard Elena whisper her name. Caspian pushed Aria behind him in one sharp, protective movement, his hand sliding across her waist like he was afraid she would disappear if he let go.
The door cracked open.
A sliver of dim hallway light spilled across the floorboards.
A shape stood in the doorway. Tall. Broad. Male.
Aria's lungs locked. It was not the Shadow's silhouette she had memorized in nightmares, but she could not place it either.
The man stepped into the room.
And everything froze.
He was young. Maybe mid twenties. His hair was soaked from rain. His clothes were wrinkled and he held something in his hand. A small USB drive. His chest rose and fell too fast. He looked terrified.
Rafael raised his gun. "Move an inch and you are done."
The stranger lifted both hands slowly. "I am not here to hurt anyone."
Caspian aimed straight between his eyes. "Then you should not have knocked on my door."
Elena staggered forward. Her voice broke. "Michael."
Aria's heart lurched.
Caspian did not lower his gun. His voice dropped into a lethal whisper. "You know him."
Elena nodded shakily. "He worked in the same office as me. Before everything went wrong."
Michael swallowed, eyes darting to Aria like he recognized her too. "I came as soon as I could. You told me to if something happened. You said to bring this." He held up the USB.
Caspian snatched it from him and slammed him against the wall in one motion. "Talk. Now."
Michael raised trembling hands. "They found the safehouse."
Cold fear sliced through Aria's spine.
"What safehouse?" she whispered.
Michael looked at her with something close to pity. "The one with the child."
Everything inside Aria stopped.
Caspian released Michael so abruptly the man stumbled. Rafael stiffened, eyes sharp. Elena's breath caught like she had been struck.
Caspian stepped forward slowly. Too slowly. "What child."
Michael's voice shook. "Isabella's."
The room tilted. Aria grabbed the edge of her dresser to keep from falling. Caspian stared at Michael like the world had cracked open under his feet.
"That is not possible," he said quietly.
Michael nodded. "She had a baby. Born in secrecy. Elena was helping her hide him."
Aria looked at her mother. Elena's face collapsed. She pressed a hand to her mouth as tears filled her eyes.
"Mom," Aria whispered. "Tell me he is lying."
Elena shook her head. "I never wanted you to find out this way."
Caspian turned away, jaw rigid, chest shaking. His voice cracked in a way Aria had never heard. "My sister. My sister had a child and no one told me."
"It was not safe," Elena whispered.
"I am her brother," Caspian snapped. "I was all she had left."
Elena wiped her tears. "She begged me not to tell you. She did not want the Leone name to destroy him."
Caspian's expression twisted with grief and rage. Rafael stepped toward him, murmuring something low and grounding, but Caspian did not hear a word.
Michael cleared his throat. "The Shadow is on the move. Harrington's men too. They know the location. They will reach the child tonight."
Caspian snapped back into the present like a blade being unsheathed. "Where."
Michael tapped the USB. "The map is inside. Elena set the safehouse up in the mountains. No cameras. No signals."
Aria looked at her mother. "Did you plan to tell me I had family. A cousin. An entire secret. Did you ever plan to tell me anything."
Elena looked shattered. "I was trying to protect you from Harrington. He would kill anyone connected to Isabella."
"That includes me," Aria whispered.
"That is why I left," Elena said. "I needed to draw them away from you. I needed you alive."
The truth hit like fire. Aria sank onto the edge of her ruined bed, tears burning behind her eyes.
Caspian crouched in front of her like he could sense her slipping. "We will get answers. Not here. Not now. First we save the child."
Aria lifted her eyes to him. His face was bruised from the fight under the overpass. Blood streaked down his sleeve. Still, he looked at her like she was the only thing anchoring him to earth.
Rafael plugged the USB into Aria's laptop. The screen flickered, then loaded a single map. Forest, hills, a remote cabin drawn by hand. Elena's handwriting labeled it.
Safehouse 3.
Caspian exhaled slowly. "We move now."
A sudden beep broke the silence.
The laptop screen glitched.
A single sentence appeared.
Too slow.
Aria's stomach dropped.
Rafael swore. "He hacked it. The Shadow is in our system."
Caspian reached for Aria, instinctive, protective. "We leave now."
A gunshot exploded in the hallway.
The apartment door jerked inward under the force of a kick.
Aria screamed. Elena grabbed her. Rafael took position beside the doorframe.
Caspian raised his gun in one fluid, lethal movement.
The door swung open.
A masked man stepped into the apartment. Not the Shadow. Someone shorter. Broad-shouldered. Wearing tactical armor.
He pointed his weapon directly at Aria.
His voice was low and quiet. "The girl comes with us."
Caspian moved so fast he blurred.
He stepped in front of Aria, blocking her completely, gun steady, voice razor sharp.
"You can take me first."
The masked man cocked his head. "That can be arranged."
He raised his gun.
Caspian fired first.
Chaos erupted.
Rafael dove behind the sofa, shooting at the second attacker who rushed in from the hallway. Elena pulled Aria toward the kitchen, screaming her name. Michael ducked behind the counter, clutching his arm where a bullet grazed him.
Aria could barely hear over the ringing in her ears.
Caspian tackled the masked gunman, slamming him into the broken wall. They crashed onto the floor, fighting at close quarters. Aria reached for Caspian but Elena pulled her back.
"Stay down."
"I cannot. He is hurt."
"You will die if you go near him."
Caspian seized the attacker's wrist, twisted hard, and threw the gun across the room. The attacker snarled and reached for a knife.
"Caspian!" Aria screamed.
He heard her voice.
He turned.
He lost focus for half a second.
The knife flashed toward his ribs.
Aria tore free from Elena and lunged.
"No!"
Her scream split the room.
Rafael fired a clean shot. The attacker dropped the knife, stumbling back. Caspian punched him once so hard the man hit the floor without sound.
Silence.
Aria ran straight into Caspian's arms. He caught her mid step, pulling her hard against his chest. His body shook with adrenaline.
"You should not have moved," he said, voice rough in her ear.
"You were going to get stabbed."
"I would take the knife before I let them touch you."
She pressed her forehead into his chest. "You are bleeding again."
"I will live."
"You will die if you keep trying to be a shield for everyone."
He cupped her face, forcing her to look at him. "I only want to shield you."
The room fell quiet except for their breathing.
Michael groaned in the corner. Elena clutched her own side, pale. Rafael reloaded his gun.
Caspian pulled Aria closer. His thumb brushed her cheek with the softest touch she had ever felt from him. His voice dropped to a whisper only she could hear.
"Stay with me."
"I am not leaving you."
His eyes softened for one heartbeat. One fragile second.
"We need to get to that child," Rafael said sharply. "Now."
Caspian nodded. "Everyone moves. We leave in thirty seconds."
He looked at Aria again.
"You stay beside me. Understand."
Aria breathed out slowly. "Yes."
He leaned in, lips brushing her hair, soft, shaken. "Good."
Rafael kicked open the back exit.
Caspian took Aria's hand.
Elena limped behind them.
The building burned with silence.
The Shadow was somewhere out there.
A child was waiting.
And Aria felt the storm rising again. Hot. Violent. Inescapable.
She looked up at Caspian as they stepped into the night.
He was still bleeding.
He was still furious.
He was still hers.
And he whispered, "We are out of time."