“Aurora.”

Her eyes moved over me.

Then she smiled.

A fake, poisonous smile.

“There you are.”

Every muscle in my body tightened.

Kian turned slightly.

“Who is she?”

Regina immediately changed.

That was what she did best.

She performed.

“Oh, Mr. Moretti, thank goodness you’re here.”

My stomach twisted.

She stepped forward.

“She’s my stepdaughter.”

The word sounded wrong coming from her mouth.

“She has been unstable recently.”

I stared at her.

Unstable.

That was the word people used when they wanted others to doubt you.

Kian’s face didn’t change.

“Unstable?”

Regina sighed dramatically.

“Yes. She ran away from home. She refuses help. She’s been paranoid.”

I almost laughed.

Paranoid.

After being hunted for months.

After hearing her sell me.

After hiding in storage rooms.

I was paranoid?

Regina looked at my bruised wrist.

Then quickly looked away.

“She needs medical attention.”

A cold silence followed.

Because Kian had seen the bruises too.

And unlike everyone else—

he did not look away.

“Interesting,” he said.

Regina blinked.

“What?”

“You claim she is unstable.”

His voice was calm.

“But your first instinct when seeing her is not concern.”

The air changed.

Regina’s smile weakened.

Kian continued.

“Your first instinct is explanation.”

Nobody spoke.

I watched Regina carefully.

For the first time tonight…

she looked nervous.

“You misunderstand.”

“I rarely do.”

The way he said it made even the room feel quieter.

Regina took a step back.

“Mr. Moretti, this is a family matter.”

Kian looked at her.

“No.”

A pause.

“This became my matter when your actions frightened my son.”

That sentence shocked me.

Not because he defended me.

Because he defended Zayn.

His entire world seemed to revolve around that child.

Regina noticed it too.

Her eyes moved toward Zayn.

And suddenly, she understood.

She understood exactly who she had walked into.

“I see.”

Her voice became softer.

“You’re his father.”

“Yes.”

“And you know who Aurora is?”

“I know enough.”

The words sounded familiar.

Because Zayn had said the same thing.

I looked at Kian.

For the first time, I wondered what exactly he knew.

Then Regina smiled.

Not kindly.

Never kindly.

“You should ask her about her father.”

My heart stopped.

Kian’s eyes shifted toward me.

Regina continued.

“Ask her why she really ran away.”

“Regina.”

My voice came out low.

She ignored me.

“Ask her what happened before her father died.”

Something changed in Kian’s expression.

Only slightly.

But I saw it.

A question.

A suspicion.

And suddenly, all the confidence I had built over months started collapsing.

Because there was one thing I had never told anyone.

One thing I had buried.

One thing I was terrified would change how people saw me.

Kian noticed.

He noticed everything.

“Aurora.”

I looked at him.

“Is there something I should know?”

My mouth opened.

Nothing came out.

Because how could I explain?

How could I tell a stranger that my father’s death wasn’t as simple as everyone believed?

How could I tell him that the last night I saw my father alive, Regina had been standing outside his hospital room?

How could I admit that I had spent months running not only because Regina wanted me…

but because I knew something about her that could destroy everything?

Before I could answer—

Zayn stepped between us.

“No.”

Everyone looked at him.

The little boy’s face was serious.

“No what?” Kian asked gently.

“No asking scary questions.”

Something softened in Kian.

“Zayn.”

“She’s scared.”

The boy pointed at me.

“Everyone keeps making her scared.”

My chest tightened.

Because he was right.

Everyone had.

Kian crouched down until he was eye level with his son.

“Buddy.”

“I know you’re trying to help.”

Zayn nodded.

“But sometimes helping someone means letting them tell the truth.”

The boy looked uncertain.

Then he looked at me.

And whispered:

“Are you scared of my dad too?”

The question broke something inside me.

Because the answer was yes.

Of course I was.

Everyone was.

But somehow, standing there with this child looking at me like my answer mattered…

I didn’t want to lie.

“A little.”

Zayn looked at Kian.

Then back at me.

“He’s scary.”

A pause.

“But he’s not bad.”

Kian closed his eyes for half a second.

Like those words hurt him.

I noticed.

And I wondered why.

Why would a powerful man who terrified criminals care so much about whether his son thought he was good?

Then Kian stood.

“Take Zayn outside.”

One of his men moved forward.

But Zayn grabbed my hand.

“No.”

Kian looked at him.

“Zayn.”

“I promised.”

The room froze.

Kian looked between his son and me.

“What did you promise?”

Zayn lifted his chin.

“I promised I would protect her.”

Something passed through Kian’s eyes.

A memory.

A wound.

Something old.

Then he looked at me.

“Aurora.”

“Yes?”

“Did my son make you a promise?”

I hesitated.

Then nodded.

“He did.”

“And did you make one back?”

My cheeks warmed.

“Yes.”

“What promise?”

I looked down.

Because saying it out loud felt ridiculous.

“I told him I’d marry him.”

Silence.

Then—

One of Kian’s men coughed.

Actually coughed.

As if he had forgotten how to breathe.

Kian stared.

And then, unexpectedly…

he almost smiled.

Almost.

Not a full smile.

Just a brief crack in the impossible seriousness of his face.

“You agreed to marry my six-year-old son.”

“When he says it like that, it sounds worse.”

“It sounds exactly like that.”

“I was trapped in a storage room.”

“I see.”

“He was trying to save me.”

Kian looked at Zayn.

Then back at me.

“And he succeeded?”

I looked around.

At the broken door.

At Regina.

At the men who had come to take me.

Then at the little boy standing beside me.

“Yes.”

The answer came quietly.

“Yes, he did.”

For some reason, that answer seemed to matter.

Kian looked toward Regina.

“Leave.”

She stiffened.

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me.”

“I came here for my property.”

The word hit me.

Property.

Kian’s expression became colder than before.

“She is not property.”

Regina laughed.

“You don’t understand.”

“I understand perfectly.”

“No, you don’t.”

Her voice sharpened.

“She belongs to the debt.”

The room went silent.

I felt the blood drain from my face.

Kian’s eyes became dangerous.

“What debt?”

Regina realized too late.

She had said too much.

“Aurora.”

Kian looked at me.

“Explain.”

I swallowed.

Because there was no escaping now.

“My father left me a trust.”

Kian listened.

“Regina couldn’t access it.”

His eyes stayed on me.

“She started borrowing money.”

A pause.

“From Tony.”

The name meant something to him.

I saw it.

“And when she couldn’t pay…”

I looked at Regina.

“She decided she could sell me.”

Zayn’s face changed.

He looked horrified.

“She was going to sell you?”

I didn’t answer.

Because the truth was too ugly.

Kian did.

His voice was quiet.

“Who was buying?”

Nobody moved.

Regina’s face went pale.

“Aurora.”

I looked at him.

“Who?”

The room seemed to shrink.

Because I had spent months running from that answer.

The reason Regina was willing to pay people.