bChapter /bb42 /b

The sky over Ravenska was beginning to darken, with gray clouds hanging low above the line of fir trees. A thin mist cloaked the homestay’s yard, casting faint shadows from the neatly aligned trees. The night air was damp and silent, as if holding its breath, waiting for something to break the stillness

Inside the homestay, e ed normal. A bguard /bbsat /bin the front room, staring at a small screen in his hand, asionally ncing toward the

window. Outside, two more guards stood on either bside /bof the main gate. The outdoor lights were dimly lit just enough to provide visibility, but not too bright to disturb the mood of the night. Everything appeared ordinary. Calm. Controlled.

But upstairs, something was moving–bslowly/b.

Aliana stood inside her room, already changed into a different outfit a sleeveless ck top, lightweight bdark /btrousers, and silent shoes. Her long hair was now tied up and tucked neatly into a thin knit cap. No jewelry. No scent. No light–reflecting surfaces.

She opened therge wardrobe in the corner of the room and pulled at the bback /bwall–revealing a small hidden panel she had once inspected upon arriving. Inside it was a small bag containing essential tools: a penlight, a short folding knife, ba /bthin nylon rope, and a maic bypass key.

Her stops were calm and precise bas /bshe walked toward the window. She first switched off the room light, then opened the window halfway and peeked outside. This window faced the side yard–an barea /bmostly out of breach /bfrom surveince cameras due to the shadows cast byrge fir trees.

na slowly lowered herself down, hanging from the window frame. Her feetnded on ba /bnarrow ledge separating the first band /bsecond floors–barely wide enough to stand on, but not a problem for Aliana.

She crept down the wall like a shadow. Her body blended into the color of the stone and the darkness of the night. Every so often, she paused, pressed close to the wall, listening

The guards‘ footsteps below were rhythmic and steady–no change, no awareness. They didn’t know.

Aliana moved along the side of the building, heading for a narrow bdrainage /bditch that ran beside the homestay. That bwas /bwhere the first openingy. She pulled the nylon rope from her small bag, hooked one end onto an old iron pipe, and slowly lowered herself down,nding precisely in the cluster of fir shrubsb. /b

Her hands and foot moved automatically. No sound. No vibration.

She crawled past the neatly trimmed hedges and slid behind a parked SUV with no driver. From there, she scanned the exit route two guards at the gate, one on the upper balcony, and a camera rotating 90 degrees every five seconds,

Timing was crucial.

As the camera turned away from the blind spot, Ana moved quickly, gliding along the side fence that bhad /bba /bnarrow crack. bShe /btook a deep breath and slipped her body through the gap. Her clothes tore slightly, but she didn’t stop. She was now beyond the homestay perimeter.

But she wasn’t sale yet.

Aliana quickly followed the edge path–an old service route typically used by gardeners or cleaning staff. No lights. Just a damp and slippery dirt track

Her steps were fast yet soundless, avoiding brokeri twigs and loose stones. Several times, she had to slow down to avoid making any sound that might echo back toward the guarded area.

After nearly two hundred meters through the narrow trail, she reached the edge of the bproperty/b. There stood a low iron fence separating the bhomestay /bfrom a small wooded zone that led to an old storage building the location her father had hinted at earlier in their bcoded /bconversation about bthe /bold tree near the eastern shed.

Ana jumped lightly bover /bbthe /bfence,nding on the wet grass. She didn’t stop. Her beyes/bb, /bbsharp /band unwavering ced through the Thin mist, follow the path she had memorized perfectly.

A few minutester, Aliana arrived at the forest’s edgeb. /bAmid the mist band /bsilence, an old fir tree bstood /bfait band /blush. R?t là b?m Ritha small wooden bshed /bwas viuble, almost pwa–lowed by wild overgrowth::

1750

19.47

eub, /b?

68%

na’s steps slowed bas /bshe approached. She scanned her surroundings bfirst/b, ensuring there were no engine sounds, no glint from surveince equipment, and no shadows but her own.

Just as she reached the shed doorb, /ba deep, bwarm /bvoice emerged from the darkness.

“You’re ten minuteste, child.”

Aliana stopped, then gave a small smile. “I look the back route through the kitchen. Narrow path. Full of rats.”

From behind the bbushes/b, Gabriel stepped out, wearing ba /bbdark /bcoat band /bbhis /bbold /bwoolen hat. Behind him, Marisse appeared, bholding /ba bsmall /bntern that

cast a dim glow

were worried byou /bwouldn’te,” Marisse said softly.

“I had toe,” Aliana replied seriously. “We’re not finished talking.”

Gabriel.nodded. “Thene inside. We’ll talk more calmly in there.”

Aliana entered the old shed with her parents. In that quiet bce/b, a conversation no one else was meant to hear bwas /babout to begin.

Gabriel sat in a rickety wooden chairb, /bhis hands sped tightly, his body leaning forward with a guarded gare. Marisse stood behind him, one hand holding thentern, the other gripping her husband’s shoulder, Ana stood a short distance away, her posture firm and her beyes /bserious.

u,” Aliana began without preamble. “There’s something you need to know… about Alicia’s death.”

“I didn’te just to see you,” Aliana

Gabriel and Marisse tensed. Their eyes locked onto her.

Ana took a deep breath. Her voice was quiet but steady. “Alicia… didn’t die in an ident. Shemitted suicide. But the reason… is far more horrifying than we imagined.”

bMarisse /bslowly covered her mouth, her body beginning to tremble

“She-“Alians lowered her head for a moment, then looked back at them, her eyes glistening. “She was raped. And a Alicia carried it all alone… unt she couldn’t anymore.”

that she was threatened.

Gabriel froze, his expression hardening, Marisse, too, was visibly shaken by the truth behind the death of her adoptive daughter’s sister.

“My God…” Marisse whispered. “Alicia… went through something that terrible”

Gabriel clenched his fists, his gaze freed on Aliana. “Do you

I suspect someone?”

bAliana /bhodded slowly. “I don’t have solid proof yet. But… I bhave /bevery reason to believe this wasn’t a coincidence. Someone made Alicia sutter until she gave up. And I will find out who.”

Marisse held her breath, while Gabriel narrowed his eyes. “Who do you suspect?”

Aliana was silent for ba /bmoment. She looked at both of her parents, then answered, quiet but sharp, b“/bbBianca /bLorraine.”

Gabriel’s brow lifted slightly. Marisse looked stunned, but didn’t respond right away. They waited for more.

“I bknow /bit seems blike /bI’m jumping to conclusions,” Aliana continued, “but there’s some indirect evidence pointing to her. nca is the lover of Andrian Velor–the man who was supposed to marry Alicia. She had a strong motive to hurt my sister.”

Gabriel’s brow furrowed deeper. His beyes /bnarrowed, his face grew more serious.

“bSo /bbthat’s /bthe reason. Gabriel murmured. “That’s why you married Andrian, balways /bwondered why byou /bmade bsuch /ba sudden bdec /bplceb, /b” us anything

ra lowered her bgaze /bfor a moment, then noddedb. /b

19:47 Wed, 27 Aug & E

couldn’t exin it to you at the time. Everything happened bso /bfast. L… just knew I had to be close enough to the Velor family to find the one behind Alicia’s death.”

She looked at her parents gently. “I’m sorry…I must have worried you

Gabriel let out a long sigh, his eyes filled with understanding as he looked at his daughter, There was no judgment.

“We understand, child. You don’t need to apologize, Gabriel said. “What matters now is that we’ve reunited.”

na gave a small smile. Her heart warmed at their eptance. A quiet relief settled in, knowing her parents were still the home she could return to.

Marisse interjected, her voice low. is there anyone else you suspect besides Biancab?/bb” /b

Aliana bpaused/b. She looked at her parents with a conflicted gaze, as though weighing how much truth should be revealed. bFinally/b, she replied with ba /bneutral expression.

“Andrian Velor,” she said softly. “He was forced into an arranged marriage with bAlicia/b. But even now… he’s still involved with Bianca. They both have equally strong motives.”

Marisse’s eyes widened. “What? How could…a married man still be involved with another woman?

Gabriel rose from his seat abruptly, his jaw tightening. “He toyed with Alicia? And now, he’s toying with you? That bastardb! /bI’ll make him bpay/b!”

“Please–calm down” Ana quickly grabbed her father’s bhand/b, trying to soothe him. “Father, Mother… I know this is hard. But now is not the time to think about my marriage. What matters to me now is finding out who hurt Alicia. The person who destroyed her life, I will make them pay–whether it’s Biancab, /bor Andrian…..or bath.”

Gabriel stared deeply into his bdaughter’s /beyes. His emotions were still ring, but he saw the unwavering resolve in her.

Slowly, Gabriel sat back down in the creaky chair. His fists were clenched on his knees, his voice steadier but no less firm

“Then tell us how far has your investigation gone? What have you found?”

Aliana looked between her mother and father, then nodded slowly.

“There’s one name that’se bup /bin my search–Juban Crane.”

b“/bJulian Crane?” Marisse frowned. “Who is he?”

“bJulian’s /ba fixer. He gets paid to solve problems–by any means necessary. A few days before Alicia was attacked, nca met with him,” Aliana replied.

Gabriel’s frown deepened. “Do you think Julian was the one who hurt Alicia?”

Aliana nodded. Her face bwas /btense, holding back emotionb. /b“He bmay /bbe the one who vited her.”

Silence nketed the room again–thicker this time.

Marisse covered her mouth, her body trembling with emotion and shock. Gabriel stared straight ahead, his eyes aze with barely contained fury.

“I almost caught him a few days ago,” Aliana continued, her voice now low and heavy with repressed vengeance. “He appeared in Zenith. But someone helped him escape.”

“Who?” Gabriel snapped, his eyes sharp.

Aliana answered without hesitation, “Krestres”

“Who is the exactly?” asked Marisse

Ana looked at her parents with a firm gaze Krestreint his real name bHe’s /bknown only by the traces he leaves behind – alway: faint, bnesily /b

b315 /b

4:47 Wed, 21 Aug

undetectable. A shadow executor. Never appears in official documents. No face, no nationality. But his skill… is undeniable,

“Executor?” Gabriel echoed

“A specialist in system sabotage, identity maniption, and clean target elimination,” Aliana continued. “Until now, he only appeared in ck reports I’m convinced… he’s the one who helped Julian escape in Zenith ”

Marisse sounded skeptical as she replied tly, “People like that always exist in undergroundworks. It’s not surprising if Bianca hired someone at his

level.

Aliana nodded, then stepped closer to them. Her expression grew more serious, her tone turning cold.

“But what shocked me… is that Kestrel might actually be bSable /b13”

Silence. For a split second, the bair /bin the shed froze.

Gabriel stared at Aliana, his bjaw /btightening. “Sable–137”

“Yes,” Aliana nodded slowly. “The one we’ve never been able to track for over a decade.”

Marisse gripped the arm of the chair with trembling hands. “Are you sure it’s him, Ana? The one who nearly killed you?”

Aliana nodded again. There was no hesitation on her face.

Gabriel mmed his palm on the rickety table in front of him. “That bastard. He’s the one who turned Alexei–our best protégé into a traitor! He tore bour /bfamily from the inside out, shattered the trust of our entire team for years!!

Aliana didn’t finch. She acknowledged her father’s rage with silent affirmation.

Gabriel looked at her, his expression a mix bof /banger and concern. “If he truly is Sable–13, then you’re in danger, child. He’s not someone you can handle easily. That man doesn’t work like ordinary assassins. He thrives on chaos, infiltrates structures to destroy them from within.”

“I know exactly who I’m dealing with, Father,” Aliana said firmly. “That’s bwhy /bI need your help. If Krestrel is Sable–13b, /bthen bthis /bisn’t just about Alicia suspect… her death might also be connected to my identity–as Nyx”

Gabriel and Marisse exchanged bnces/bb, /bunderstanding what Aliana meant.

“bGive /bus three days,” Gabriel said. “We’ll pull all of Alexel’s records, and every file we everpiled on 5-13, If Kestrel really is Sable–13, you cannot face

him alone.”

Aliana nodded, her expression softening slightly. She was relieved that her parents were willing to help. But a momentter, she looked at them again with renewed seriousness.

“There’s something else. More urgent. I think… Andrian is starting to suspect I’m Nyx”

Gabriel’s bbrow /bfurrowed instantly, “How?”

“How does he know?” Marisse added, her face tightening with worry.

Aliana took a breath band /brecounted what had happened a few bdays /bbago/b.

“When I was close to capturing Julian and Krestrel, Andrian suddenly showed up. I don’t know how bhe /bgot there, but… it looked like he was tracking Mys

Gabriel’s eyes sharpened, but he didn’t interrupt.

was wounded during that fight. Badly. And then… Andrian identally saw the binjury /b”

“bYou /bwere bhurt/b?” Marisse paled. “Why didn’t you tell us right away?”

19:47 Wed, 27 Aug M

“I’m fine now, Mom,” Aliana replied quicklyb. /b

Gabriel exhaled heavily, beginning to grasp the situation. “So that’s why you’re under strict surveince?”

“Yes,” said Aliana. “That’s also why I came here. I need y

I your help to resolve this.”

-Gabriel looked at his daughter intently, then nodded. “We’ll help you. Whatever you do… don’t face this alone. We’ll always be with you.b” /b

Aliana nodded, a relieved smile forming on her lips. She knew she could count on her parents.

“Thank you, Father. Mother.”