Selina could not stop staring at the newspaper clipping.
The edges of the paper were faded with age, the ink slightly worn from time, yet the headline remained painfully clear.
Wealthy Couple Dies in Highway Accident — Child Missing
Child missing.
Not dead.
Not found.
Missing.
Her fingers trembled faintly before she slowly placed the paper back onto the desk.
Selina Blackthorn.
The name echoed through her mind in a way that felt unfamiliar and strangely intimate at the same time.
Like something her soul recognized before her memory did.
She leaned back slowly against the chair, trying to steady the pressure building inside her chest.
All her life, she had searched for reasons behind the distance inside the Vale family.
Why affection always felt conditional.
Why praise was always directed toward Elara.
Why she spent years desperately trying to earn a place that never truly belonged to her.
And now—
the answer sat directly in front of her.
Because she was never meant to belong there.
Lucian remained silent, allowing her space to process everything.
For once, Selina appreciated it.
Because if he spoke too much right now, she felt like something inside her might finally break apart completely.
After several long minutes, she finally lifted her eyes toward him again.
"You said the Blackthorn family was destroyed."
Her voice sounded quieter than usual.
More fragile.
Lucian nodded once.
"Yes."
Selina swallowed slightly.
"How?"
A faint tension appeared in his jaw.
"That story has enemies attached to it."
"That's not an answer."
"No," Lucian agreed calmly. "It's a warning."
Silence followed again.
Selina was beginning to hate how often silence carried more truth than words around him.
She stood slowly from the chair and walked toward the massive glass windows overlooking the city.
The lights below blurred faintly before her eyes.
Her mind was too crowded now.
Too many truths arriving at once.
She pressed her fingers lightly against the cool glass.
"If my family was destroyed," she said quietly, "why was I left alive?"
Lucian answered immediately this time.
"Because someone wanted you hidden."
Selina turned toward him sharply.
"Hidden from who?"
Lucian held her gaze steadily.
"The same people who destroyed them."
The room became unbearably still.
Selina's heartbeat slowed heavily inside her chest.
Destroyed them.
Not accident.
Not coincidence.
Murder.
The realization settled slowly into her mind like ice spreading beneath water.
Her real family had not simply died.
They had been targeted.
And somehow—
she survived.
Selina looked away again.
A strange ache spread through her chest.
Not because she remembered them.
She didn't.
That was the painful part.
She couldn't remember their faces.
Their voices.
Nothing.
Only emptiness where those memories should have been.
Lucian watched her carefully.
"You're thinking too far ahead," he said quietly.
Selina laughed softly under her breath.
"How am I supposed to think normally after this?"
Lucian didn't answer.
Because there was no normal answer.
She turned back toward him slowly.
"Did Damian and Livia know who I really was?"
Lucian hesitated slightly.
That alone told her enough.
Selina's expression hardened faintly.
"They knew."
"Yes."
The answer came quietly.
Selina felt something inside her chest twist painfully.
Not surprise.
Disappointment.
Because despite everything—
some foolish part of her had still hoped they were innocent in this.
Lucian stepped closer slowly.
"They were paid to raise you quietly," he said.
Selina looked at him sharply.
"Paid?"
"Yes."
Her stomach tightened uncomfortably.
"So all these years…"
She couldn't finish the sentence.
Because suddenly every memory inside the Vale household felt different.
Every act of kindness.
Every cold look.
Every moment of neglect.
Was it all obligation?
A transaction?
Lucian's voice lowered slightly.
"They were instructed to keep you alive," he said carefully. "Nothing more."
The words hit harder than Selina expected.
For a moment, she couldn't speak.
Because deep down—
it matched the truth she had always felt but never wanted to admit.
The Vale family fed her.
Educated her.
Sheltered her.
But they never truly loved her.
Not completely.
Not equally.
And now she understood why.
She walked away from the window slowly.
Her movements felt heavier now.
Like the identity she carried her entire life was beginning to crack apart piece by piece.
Lucian studied her expression carefully.
"You don't need to process everything tonight."
Selina looked at him immediately.
"Easy for you to say."
A faint silence followed.
Then Lucian spoke quietly.
"I spent years wishing you never had to learn it at all."
That made her pause.
There was no manipulation in his voice.
No strategy.
Only exhaustion.
Selina frowned slightly.
"Why?"
Lucian's silver eyes held hers steadily.
"Because once you know the truth, they will know you know."
A chill ran through her instantly.
Selina stared at him.
"They?"
Lucian's expression darkened faintly.
"The people who have been searching for you since childhood."
The room suddenly felt colder again.
Selina crossed her arms unconsciously.
"Searching for me for what?"
Lucian looked away briefly.
And for the first time since she met him—
he seemed uncertain about how to answer.
Not afraid.
Careful.
Which somehow felt worse.
Finally, he spoke.
"The Blackthorn family controlled something powerful."
Selina frowned immediately.
"What does that mean?"
Lucian's voice remained calm.
"It means your family wasn't destroyed only for money or influence."
A pause.
"They were protecting something."
Selina's chest tightened faintly.
"And now those people think I know where it is?"
"Yes."
The answer came without hesitation.
Selina let out a slow breath, pressing a hand lightly against her forehead.
This was becoming too much.
A hidden identity.
A murdered family.
People searching for her since childhood.
And now—
some unknown thing connected to the Blackthorn name.
Her thoughts suddenly stopped at one detail.
She looked up sharply.
"Wait."
Lucian's gaze shifted toward her.
"You said they've been searching for me since childhood."
"Yes."
Selina frowned slightly.
"Then why didn't they take me from the Vale family?"
Lucian went silent again.
That silence immediately sharpened her attention.
"What?"
Lucian looked at her steadily.
"Because someone else found you first."
Selina's pulse stumbled.
"…Who?"
Lucian didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he walked toward the desk and picked up one of the old photographs.
Then he handed it to her.
Selina looked down slowly.
The photograph was old and slightly blurred.
A child stood beside a black car during heavy rain.
Small.
Thin.
Frightened.
Her.
And kneeling in front of that child—
was a young man with silver eyes.
Selina's breath caught painfully.
No.
That wasn't possible.
The man in the photograph looked younger.
But unmistakably—
Lucian.
Her fingers tightened around the photograph.
"You…"
Her voice barely came out.
Lucian's gaze never left hers.
"I found you first."