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🌙 Chapter 12 – Alina's Game
Alina never rushed.
That was her biggest advantage.
She believed chaos tasted better when it was slow—when people destroyed themselves thinking it was their own choice.
The Watson house slept quietly that night.
But Alina was wide awake.
She sat on her bed, phone glowing in the dark, scrolling through old photos—memories Luca Fernandes had tried to forget. A past he never explained. A wound he buried deep.
"People don't need lies," she whispered to herself.
"They just need partial truths."
Her fingers moved fast.
Message sent to Noah Watson (from a masked contact):
Ask Luca why Sabrina Fernandes cried the night he left.
Ask him why his silence ruined more than one family.
Alina smiled.
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The next morning, tension hung thick in the air.
Noah Watson entered the kitchen quietly. Luca Fernandes was already there—coffee untouched, eyes tired. Their gazes met for a second.
Then Noah looked away.
Again.
That hurt more than confrontation.
Sabrina Fernandes noticed immediately.
She followed Alina into the hallway.
"You need to stop," Sabrina said sharply.
Alina turned, surprised—then amused.
"Stop what?"
"Pretending," Sabrina replied. "You're not here to fix anything. You're here to break it."
Alina stepped closer, her voice soft but venomous.
"I didn't break anything. I just reminded people of what already cracks."
"You're hurting Noah," Sabrina snapped.
Alina's smile faded for the first time.
"And Luca hurt people too. Why is his pain sacred?"
Sabrina went silent.
Because that was the truth no one wanted to touch.
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Later that day, Noah finally confronted Luca.
They stood in the garden again—the same place where peace had once lived.
"Did you ruin someone's life when you left?" Noah asked quietly.
Luca's breath hitched.
"Who's telling you this?"
"That's not an answer," she replied.
He closed his eyes. "I didn't ruin anyone. But I didn't save them either."
Her chest tightened. "So you admit it."
"I admit," Luca said hoarsely, "that my silence caused damage. That I thought leaving would protect everyone. And I was wrong."
Noah's eyes filled—but she didn't cry.
"That's what scares me," she whispered. "You decide things alone. You disappear. And people are left to guess why."
Luca stepped forward instinctively.
"I never wanted to hurt you."
"But you did," she replied softly. "Without trying."
From the balcony above, Alina watched, satisfied.
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That evening, the truth began to leak.
Eva overheard a phone call.
Emily saw old messages.
Mike connected timelines that didn't add up.
Sofia Watson confronted Sabrina Fernandes.
"Alina's lying," Sofia said firmly.
Sabrina nodded. "Yes. But she's also using real pain."
Inside her room, Noah sat alone, heart exhausted.
She wasn't angry anymore.
She was tired.
And Alina knew—
That was the most dangerous stage.
Because tired hearts don't fight.
They give up.
Alina typed one final message.
Tomorrow, everything ends.
And for the first time since this story began,
even Luca Fernandes felt like he was running out of time.
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