Rachel stood in front of the mirror later that evening trying to understand how her life had spiraled this far.
Twenty-four hours ago she was a waitress secretly in love with a dangerous billionaire.
Now?
News channels were discussing her pregnancy while armed guards patrolled outside a penthouse worth more than entire neighborhoods.
Insane.
---
She adjusted the silk robe around herself carefully, still sore from the gunshot. The bedroom behind her glowed softly under dim gold lights, elegant and warm in a way that almost made her forget people were actively trying to kill her.
Almost.
---
The bathroom door opened behind her.
Rachel looked up through the mirror automatically.
And immediately lost her train of thought.
Raziel stepped out wearing black dress pants and a partially buttoned shirt, his sleeves rolled back while water still glistened faintly along his neck.
Ridiculous.
This man looked expensive even fresh out of the shower.
---
His eyes found hers instantly through the mirror.
Then lowered slightly.
Rachel suddenly became aware of the fact that the robe showed more skin than intended.
The slow look he gave her did absolutely nothing good to her heartbeat.
---
Raziel walked toward her calmly while fastening the cuff of his watch.
"You should be resting."
Rachel folded her arms.
"You say that like I'm eighty years old."
"You were shot yesterday."
"And you're annoyingly dramatic."
"I'm realistic."
She turned toward him fully.
"You literally threatened to burn down a city."
"That was different."
Rachel stared at him.
Raziel paused.
"…slightly dramatic."
---
A laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
Raziel's expression softened immediately at the sound.
Then his gaze drifted lower again.
Slower this time.
Rachel noticed.
Of course she noticed.
---
"What?" she asked carefully.
He stepped closer.
Too close.
"You're beautiful."
Simple words.
Quiet voice.
Yet somehow they landed harder than elaborate speeches ever could.
---
Rachel looked away briefly, trying not to let him see how easily he affected her.
Big mistake.
Because Raziel's fingers slid beneath her chin almost instantly, turning her face back toward him gently.
"No hiding."
God.
This man said things like he owned emotions too.
---
Rachel's pulse jumped when his thumb brushed slowly along her lower lip.
The atmosphere shifted immediately.
Warmer.
Heavier.
Dangerously intimate again.
---
Raziel leaned down slightly, his forehead resting against hers while his hand settled carefully against her waist.
"You've been avoiding looking at me properly all evening."
Rachel swallowed.
"Maybe because you keep staring at me like that."
"Like what?"
"Like you want to ruin my life."
His mouth curved faintly against hers.
"Too late."
---
The kiss started softly.
Slow enough to feel intentional.
Rachel melted into it before she could stop herself, her fingers curling against the front of his shirt while his hand slid lower along her waist possessively.
No rush.
No urgency.
Just heat building slowly between them.
Raziel kissed like a man completely addicted.
Careful at first.
Then deeper once she kissed him back.
Rachel barely noticed herself moving closer until she was pressed fully against him, feeling the warmth of his body through the thin fabric of the robe.
And judging from the way his breathing changed
Raziel noticed too.
---
His hand tightened slightly against her waist before pulling back just enough to look at her.
The look in his eyes nearly destroyed her composure completely.
Not cold billionaire now.
Not feared mafia boss.
Just hunger mixed with affection.
A dangerous combination honestly.
---
Then suddenly
A sharp knock interrupted the moment.
Both of them paused.
Raziel closed his eyes briefly like he wanted to murder whoever stood outside the door.
Rachel laughed softly under her breath.
"You should probably answer before Cassian starts crying dramatically again."
"It's not Cassian."
The change in his tone made her straighten immediately.
---
Raziel moved toward the bedroom entrance slowly before opening the door halfway.
A security guard stood outside looking tense.
"Sir."
Raziel's expression hardened.
"What happened?"
The guard hesitated.
Never good.
---
Then quietly
"There's a woman downstairs demanding to see Miss Brooks."
Rachel frowned slightly from across the room.
"At this hour?"
Raziel's eyes narrowed.
"Who is she?"
The guard swallowed once before answering.
"She says…"
A pause.
"…she's Rachel's mother."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
Rachel froze completely.
Because that was impossible.
Her mother was dead.
---
Slowly
Very slowly
Raziel turned back toward her.
And the expression on his face told her one terrifying thing immediately.
He didn't think the woman was lying.
---
Minutes later the penthouse elevator doors opened.
Rachel stood beside Raziel while armed guards filled the room quietly. Nobody trusted surprises anymore.
The elevator slid open slowly.
And a woman stepped out wearing a long red dress beneath a black coat, elegant enough to look completely out of place inside the chaos surrounding Rachel's life.
Older than Rachel remembered.
Still beautiful.
Still unmistakably
Her mother.
Rachel's breathing stopped.
"No…"
The woman's eyes filled instantly the second she saw Rachel.
Then softly
Almost emotionally
She whispered:
"Baby."
Rachel physically stepped backward.
Because dead people were not supposed to come back.
---
Then Raziel spoke.
And the coldness in his voice made every guard in the room tense immediately.
"Search her."
Rachel looked at him sharply.
"That's my mother."
Raziel never took his eyes off the woman.
"No," he said quietly.
"…that's the woman who disappeared the same night your father died."
And suddenly
The woman in red smiled
The smile on Isabella's face changed the entire atmosphere.
Not warm.
Not emotional.
Knowing.
Like she had walked into the room already aware of every secret nobody else understood yet.
---
Rachel stared at her in complete disbelief.
Her voice barely came out.
"…Mom?"
The word sounded unfamiliar now.
Strange.
Because this woman was supposed to be dead.
Rachel remembered the funeral.
The crying.
The empty house afterward.
She remembered grieving her.
So what the hell was this?
---
Isabella's eyes softened slightly while looking at Rachel.
"You grew up beautifully."
Rachel felt anger rise instantly beneath the shock.
Beautifully?
That's what you say after disappearing for years?
---
Raziel stepped slightly in front of Rachel before she could move closer. Protective instinct again.
Always immediate.
"Don't come any closer."
Isabella's gaze shifted toward him slowly.
And suddenly the tension became sharper.
Personal.
---
"Well," Isabella murmured smoothly, "you certainly became just like your father warned."
Raziel's expression darkened.
"You shouldn't be here."
"And yet I am."
Rachel looked between them carefully.
Because these two clearly knew each other far more than expected.
---
Her chest tightened.
"You knew she was alive?"
Raziel's silence answered first.
Rachel looked at him in disbelief.
"You have GOT to be kidding me."
"I suspected."
"That's not better!"
---
Isabella laughed softly under her breath, removing her gloves elegantly.
"He always did prefer half-truths."
Rachel folded her arms slowly.
"Can somebody explain what's happening before I lose my mind?"
---
Nobody answered immediately.
Again.
Rachel almost screamed.
---
Then Isabella finally looked directly at her daughter again.
And this time the emotion in her eyes looked real.
Painfully real.
---
"I disappeared to keep you alive."
The room went quiet.
Rachel's anger faltered slightly despite herself.
---
Isabella continued calmly.
"After your father died, they would've taken you next."
"Who?" Rachel asked sharply.
Isabella's gaze flickered briefly toward Raziel.
"The same people surrounding you now."
Raziel's jaw tightened instantly.
Rachel noticed.
Of course she noticed.
---
"Enough games," Raziel said coldly. "Why are you here?"
Isabella slowly reached inside her coat.
Every guard in the room reacted immediately. Weapons lifted. Tension exploded.
Rachel's heartbeat jumped.
But Isabella only pulled out a small photograph.
Old. Folded slightly at the corners.
She handed it toward Rachel.
Raziel took it first.
Naturally.
He checked it carefully before finally passing it to her.
Rachel looked down at the picture
And froze.
---
It was a photo of her father.
Younger. Smiling.
Standing beside…
Raziel.
Much younger Raziel.
Rachel's breath caught instantly.
Because the expression on her father's face looked familiar.
Trusting.
Like they were close.
---
Rachel slowly looked up.
"You knew my father personally."
Raziel held her gaze quietly.
"Yes."
Isabella's voice softened slightly.
"He saved Raziel's life once."
Rachel blinked.
What?
---
Raziel looked away briefly like he hated the memory.
But Isabella kept talking.
"Your father trusted him."
Rachel laughed softly in disbelief.
"That makes this even worse."
Because if her father trusted Raziel
then the betrayal cut deeper than she thought.
---
Isabella stepped forward slowly this time.
Raziel's arm immediately moved around Rachel's waist protectively.
The movement didn't go unnoticed.
Not by Isabella.
Not by Rachel either.
---
A faint smile touched Isabella's mouth.
"So it's true."
Rachel frowned slightly.
"What is?"
Isabella's eyes rested on Raziel for a second longer before answering softly:
"He fell in love with you."
The words landed differently coming from someone else.
More real somehow.
---
Raziel didn't deny it.
Didn't even try.
He simply kept his hand against Rachel's waist while watching Isabella carefully like he still didn't trust her presence here.
Smart honestly.
---
Rachel looked back at the photo again.
Her father smiling beside Raziel.
No fear.
No tension.
Just trust.
Which meant something terrible happened between that photo… and the night her father died.
---
Rachel lifted her eyes slowly.
"What really happened that night?"
Silence filled the room again.
But this time
Isabella answered first.
"He was betrayed."
Raziel's expression changed instantly.
Not guilt this time.
Anger.
Pure anger.
---
Then Isabella said the one thing nobody expected:
"And the person who betrayed him… is still inside the Benedict family."
Every guard in the penthouse stiffened immediately.
Raziel's eyes narrowed dangerously.
Rachel's pulse slowed.
Because suddenly this wasn't about enemies outside anymore.
The betrayal was inside the family itself.
---
Then Isabella looked directly at Raziel and quietly added:
"Ask your uncle why he wanted Rachel alive."
Silence.
Absolute silence.
And for the first time in a long time
Raziel looked genuinely shaken again.