The warehouse, once a place of shadows and secrets, was now flooded with the clinical white light of tactical flashlights and the flashing blue and red of arriving authorities.
Don Franklin lay on the grimy concrete, his face pressed into the dust as tactical officers zip-tied his hands with bone-crushing force. He was no longer the sophisticated mogul who had manipulated high-society boardrooms; he was a cornered rat.
"You think this is over, Primo?" Franklin hissed, spitting blood onto the floor. "You think you can just erase fifteen years of my work?"
"I'm not erasing your work, Franklin," Don Primo said, his voice cold and devoid of mercy. "I'm exposing it."
At a signal from Primo, a lead investigator stepped forward, holding a stack of digital drives recovered from the warehouse office. "Don Primo, we've found it all. The offshore accounts used to pay the kidnappers, the doctored hospital records, and the evidence regarding the hit-and-run against the boy, Oliver. Every foul secret he buried is now in the hands of the National Bureau."
As the officers hauled Franklin away, the media—who had swarmed the perimeter—captured the image of the great Don Franklin in total disgrace. The power he tried to steal was now the very cage that would lock him away for life.
The Reunion
Lady Zavhana couldn't wait a second longer. She rushed forward, pulling Alice into a fierce, trembling embrace. The scent of expensive perfume mixed with the salt air and the grime on Alice's skin.
"My baby... my brave, beautiful girl," Zavhana sobbed into Alice's hair, her tears soaking into Alice's shirt.
Don Primo stepped closer, placing a protective, steady hand on Alice's shoulder. For the first time, Alice felt a strength behind her that didn't come from a weapon or a hidden shadow. It was the weight of a father's unconditional love.
"We have so much to tell you, Alice," Primo whispered, his eyes moist with years of unshed grief. "But first, know this: we are never letting you go again."
Alice stood frozen in their arms, her mind spinning. The world she knew—the poverty, the relentless bullying from Camille, and the complicated fear of Alex—was being replaced by a reality so vast it felt like a dream. But as the warmth of her biological parents enveloped her, a cold, sharp realization struck her.
"Ruoxi..." Alice gasped, breaking the embrace.
She turned her gaze toward the shadows where Kianna and Bryle were huddled. Ruoxi was no longer struggling. She lay perfectly still on the ground, her face a ghostly, translucent white. Her hand, stained dark with blood, was still clutching the side of her shredded tactical vest.
"Ruoxi! No!" Alice screamed, stumbling toward her.
She fell to her knees beside her protector. Ruoxi's eyes were closed, her breathing so shallow it barely moved her chest. The massive blood loss had finally claimed its toll.
"Please, wake up! You can't leave me now!" Alice cried, taking Ruoxi's limp, cold hand and pressing it to her cheek. "I just found out who I am... I need you to stay with me!"
Don Primo looked down at the unconscious woman who had fought a militia single-handedly to keep his daughter alive. He saw the scars, the wounds, and the sheer grit in her broken posture.
"Medical team, over here! Now!" Primo roared, his voice shaking the rafters. "If this woman dies, I will hold everyone in this room responsible! Get her to the best private facility in the country. Spare no expense!"
As the paramedics rushed in with a stretcher, Alice watched them lift Ruoxi's lifeless body. The woman who had been a shadow, a ghost, and a shield was now a broken hero.
"She saved me," Alice whispered to her parents, her voice trembling. "She took everything for me."
Lady Zavhana knelt beside Alice, wiping a tear from her daughter's face. "Then we will do everything to save her, Alice. I promise you."
___
As Lady Zavhana and Don Primo stood by, giving Alice a momentary breath of air, Kianna and Bryle finally stepped out from the shadows. They looked exhausted, their clothes stained with dust and Ruoxi's blood, but their eyes were fixed solely on Alice.
"Bess!" Kianna sobbed, throwing herself at Alice. She wrapped her arms around her so tightly it almost knocked the wind out of her. "I thought... I thought we were going to lose you. I was so scared when they dragged you into that van!"
Alice hugged her back, burying her face in Kianna's shoulder. "I'm okay, Kianna. I'm okay now."
Kianna eventually pulled back, wiping her eyes, leaving space for Bryle. He had been standing a few feet away, his hands trembling and his chest heaving as if he had just run a marathon. The cool, composed Bryle was gone; in his place was a boy who looked like his entire world had almost collapsed.
He didn't say a word. He simply lunged forward and pulled Alice into a crushing hug.
He buried his face in the crook of her neck, his breath shaky and hot against her skin. Alice could feel the tension in his muscles, the way he was holding her as if she might vanish if he let go for even a second.
"Do you have any idea?" Bryle whispered, his voice cracking with raw emotion. "Do you have any idea what it felt like watching them take you? I felt like I couldn't breathe, Alice. Don't ever... don't ever put me through that again."
Alice felt a lump form in her throat. She reached up, locking her arms around his waist, feeling the frantic beat of his heart against her own. "I'm sorry, Bryle. I'm so sorry."
"I don't care about the apologies," he muttered, pulling back just enough to cupped her face with both hands. He scanned every inch of her—the dirt on her forehead, the redness of her wrists from the zip-ties—his eyes filled with a deep, aching worry. "I just need you to be safe. I can't lose you."
____
Don Primo watched the interaction with a sharp, observant gaze. He saw the way Bryle looked at his daughter—not as a Villanueva heiress, but as the girl he had been willing to die for in a dark warehouse.
Oliver stood a few paces back, his arms crossed, a small, relieved smile tugging at the corners of his mouth despite his own injuries. They had all survived.
The moment was interrupted by the sound of the ambulance doors slamming shut. Alice's head snapped toward the vehicle.
"She's stable for now, Miss," a paramedic called out, referring to Ruoxi. "But we need to go. Now."
Alice looked at her friends, then at her biological parents, and finally at the ambulance. The life of the "nerd" Alice was gone, replaced by a storm of wealth, power, and danger. But as she looked at Kianna's messy hair and felt the warmth of Bryle's hands still lingering on her cheeks, she knew one thing for sure.
No matter who her parents were, these were the people who had walked into the f