CHAPTER 34The Confrontation
They moved quickly. Leo dispatched Sylas to intercept Elara while he and Luna made their way to the archives through a back corridor.
They arrived just as Sylas was leading a struggling Elara from the room.
"Let me go!" she spat. "You don't understand—"
"I understand you're betraying your family," Leo said, his voice dangerously calm.
Elara stopped struggling. Her shoulders slumped. "They're not my family."
Luna stepped forward. "The Lǐngs were."
Elara's eyes snapped to hers, wide with shock. "How did you—"
"The artistry," Luna said softly. "The way you arranged data. It wasn't just efficiency. It was pattern-making. Like the tapestries the Lǐng women were famous for."
A tear traced down Elara's cheek. "My grandmother was the last Lǐng. She taught me to weave when I was a child. Then she taught me how they took everything from us."
"You've been The Archivist all along," Leo said.
"One of them." Elara lifted her chin. "There are more of us. Survivors. Children of survivors. We've been waiting. Gathering evidence. Waiting for the right moment."
"The data breach. The photos. Kai's manipulation," Luna said, putting the pieces together. "All you."
"All us." Elara smiled bitterly. "And you played your parts perfectly. The fragile bride. The jealous husband. The greedy brother. You made it so easy."
Leo's expression was unreadable. "What now? You expose us? Destroy us?"
"We wanted justice," Elara said. "But now... I think we want something else." She looked at Luna. "You offered restitution. Was that real?"
"Yes."
"Then maybe there's another way." Elara took a deep breath. "I'll give you the names of the other Archivists. In exchange, you make the restitution real. Not just a foundation. Land. Recognition. A seat at the table for what's left of our family."
Leo and Luna exchanged a glance. Then Leo nodded. "You have a deal."
As Sylas led Elara away to be debriefed, Luna leaned against the wall, suddenly exhausted.
"It's not over," Leo said, coming to stand beside her.
"No," she agreed. "But maybe it's the beginning of something better."
He took her hand, lacing their fingers together. "Together?"
She looked at their joined hands, then up at his face—the face of the man she'd married for convenience, who was becoming something much more. "Together."