The night had become too silent, as if the darkness was holding its breath. Anne could not sleep. Her mother's words still echoed in her chest like a sad drum. The echo of her past haunted her more than ever.
It was then, while organizing old documents in Viktoria's office, that a newspaper clipping fell to the floor from a leather-bound book. Anne instinctively picked it up... and the world stopped.
There, on the cover, was him.
Zane.
Taller, more mature, but with the same intense gaze that had ignited her soul in another life. The headline read, "Philanthropic Entrepreneur Leads Search for Missing Persons in the North." And underneath, his full name: Zane M. Lóren.
Ana felt her heart drop to her stomach. She read it again and again, unable to believe it.
Zane... he had sought her out.
It wasn't just a life that was behind him. He hadn't forgotten her. Not like his father. Not like his brothers.
Zane had fought for her.
Tears welled up without warning. She dropped to the floor, clipped tight against her chest, feeling the weight of a truth she didn't know if she wanted to accept: someone out there still loved her. Maybe even more than she had allowed herself to remember.
But what could she do with that love now? She was trapped. Chained to a name, to a mansion, to a man who had poisoned her heart with sweet promises and invisible bars.
Lucian.
And while Anna cried silently, in another room, Viktoria smiled in front of the window, as if everything was happening exactly as she had planned.
Because memories can be more dangerous than any weapon. And Zane's return... it was only the beginning of a storm that no one could stop.