The storm roared around them.
Rain blurred the world into shadows and light.
But Elena couldn't look away.
The woman stepped closer, her face pale under the flashes of lightning.
Older now.
Worn by time.
But unmistakable.
Elena's voice barely came out.
"…Isabella?"
Daniel stiffened beside her.
"That's not possible," he whispered.
But the woman stopped just a few steps away.
And nodded.
"It is," she said softly.
Her voice carried something fragile.
Something broken.
Elena's heart raced.
"You… you left," she said. "The newspapers said you went abroad."
A faint, bitter smile crossed Isabella's lips.
"That's what they wanted everyone to believe."
The rain soaked through her coat, but she didn't seem to notice.
Daniel stepped forward slightly, cautious.
"You knew about Lucia," he said.
Isabella's expression changed instantly.
Pain flickered across her face.
"I tried to save her."
The words hit like a shock.
Elena stepped closer.
"What happened?" she asked.
Isabella looked toward the hills — toward the tunnels hidden beneath them.
"I followed her that night," she said. "She had discovered something… something dangerous."
"The tunnels," Daniel said.
Isabella nodded.
"And what your families were hiding inside them."
Elena felt that familiar cold dread return.
"My grandfather…" she began.
Isabella shook her head quickly.
"He didn't start it," she said. "But he didn't stop it either."
The same truth Bellini had revealed.
But hearing it from her—
Made it real.
"What about Lucia?" Elena whispered.
Isabella closed her eyes briefly.
"I found her," she said.
Silence fell heavy.
"She was alive. Terrified. Locked inside that chamber."
Elena's chest tightened.
"Then why didn't you help her out?!"
Her voice broke.
Isabella's eyes filled with tears.
"I tried," she said. "But I wasn't alone."
Daniel's voice sharpened.
"Carlo Bellini."
Isabella nodded slowly.
"He found me there."
The storm cracked overhead.
Lightning lit up the sky.
"He told me if I spoke… if I went to the police…" she continued, her voice trembling, "he would destroy everything. My family.
Your family. The entire town."
Elena shook her head, refusing to accept it.
"So you just left her?"
Isabella's voice dropped to a whisper.
"I thought I could come back."
But she didn't.
Because by the time she tried—
Lucia was already gone.
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"And the tape?"
"I recorded everything before I left," Isabella said. "In case I never made it back."
Elena stared at her.
"You've been alive all this time… and you said nothing?"
Isabella met her gaze.
"Would you have believed me?" she asked quietly.
Elena didn't answer.
Because she didn't know.
The rain began to slow slightly.
But the weight of the truth only grew heavier.
Daniel spoke carefully.
"Why come back now?"
Isabella looked between them.
Then said something that made Elena's heart stop.
"Because Bellini is planning to finish what his father started."
Silence.
Cold.
Heavy.
"What does that mean?" Elena asked.
Isabella's voice was barely audible.
"He's not just protecting the past anymore."
"He's rebuilding it."