Morning came quietly to the medical facility.
Too quietly.
The light filtering through the tall corridor windows was pale and cold, washing the sterile walls in soft gray. Machines hummed steadily. Nurses moved in measured steps. For a brief moment, it almost felt normal.
Until the door at the end of the hallway swung open.
A nurse's voice broke the stillness.
"Mr. Elias— we have a problem."
Elias turned immediately. He had been standing near the window inside Leah's room, speaking in low tones with Dante. His expression hardened before the nurse even finished her sentence.
"What happened?"
The nurse swallowed. "Mr. Izana's room. He's not there."
Silence fell.
Dante straightened, his sling shifting against his chest. "Not there as in—?"
"The restraints were broken. The IV removed. Security footage shows him leaving at approximately 03:19."
Elias didn't react outwardly.
But his eyes changed.
"He didn't attack anyone?"
"No, sir."
"Alarms?"
"Disabled manually."
Dante exhaled slowly. "He planned it."
Across the room, Leah had gone very still.
She was seated upright in the hospital bed, pale but alert. The weakness still lingered in her limbs, but her mind was clear.
"He left," she said quietly.
It wasn't a question.
Elias looked at her.
"Yes."
Her fingers tightened slightly in the blanket resting over her lap.
Not fear.
Not panic.
Understanding.
"He wouldn't stay restrained," she murmured.
Dante glanced toward her. "Leah, we don't know his mental state right now. He's unstable. We need to consider the possibility—."
"He's not running," she interrupted softly.
Elias watched her carefully. "Then what is he doing?"
She met his eyes.
"He's looking for something."
That answer settled into the room like truth.
Elias nodded once. "Prepare transport. We're returning to the mansion."
The drive back felt longer than usual.
Rain threatened but never fell. The sky was heavy with low clouds, matching the tension inside the vehicle.
Leah sat beside Dante in the back. Elias faced forward, phone already in hand, issuing clipped instructions.
"Lock down all entrances. Review access logs. Notify me of any irregular movement."
He ended the call.
Dante looked toward Leah. "You think he went home?"
She stared out the window.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She didn't hesitate.
"He doesn't move without purpose."
Her hand drifted unconsciously toward her abdomen — then stilled.
Dante noticed.
His jaw tightened subtly, but he said nothing.
Elias's voice cut through the quiet. "If he did go there, it won't be for long."
Leah's reflection in the glass looked fragile. But her eyes were steady.
"He came back once," she said softly.
Neither man responded.
Because that possibility hurt more than the alternative.
The mansion gates opened without resistance.
Security personnel were already waiting near the entrance.
Elias stepped out first.
"Well?"
One of the guards nodded. "He accessed the property at 03:42. Used the old code and broke into the archives in the medical corridor."
Leah's heart stuttered.
"And?" Elias pressed.
"He left at 04:28."
Twenty-six minutes.
He came home.
But didn't stay.
Leah stepped out of the vehicle slowly, her legs still weak. Dante moved to support her, but she gently brushed him off.
"I'm fine."
Her voice wasn't strong.
But it was determined.
They entered the mansion together.
The air inside felt different.
Still.
As if the walls were holding something.
Elias turned to the guard. "Where did he go?"
"The medical corridor," the guard replied. "And… the master bedroom."
Leah stopped walking.
The master bedroom.
Her breath caught almost imperceptibly.
Without another word, she turned toward the staircase.
Each step upward felt heavier.
The hallway stretched long and quiet before her.
The bedroom door was slightly ajar.
She pushed it open slowly.
The room looked untouched.
The bed made.
Curtains drawn the way she had left them.
But something felt different.
Her eyes fell to the center of the bed.
An envelope.
Resting on her pillow.
Her name written in unmistakable handwriting.
Leah's pulse roared in her ears.
Behind her, Dante and Elias stopped at the threshold.
She stepped forward slowly.
Sat on the edge of the bed.
Picked it up.
Her fingers trembled just once before she steadied them.
She opened it carefully.
The sound of paper unfolding filled the quiet room.
She began to read.
Silently at first.
Her eyes moved slowly across each line.
Elias watched her face.
Dante watched her hands.
When she reached the middle of the letter, her lips parted slightly.
"You deserve certainty," she whispered.
Her voice was barely audible.
"Not a weapon pretending to be a husband."
The words broke something in the air.
Dante looked down.
Elias's jaw tightened.
She continued reading.
Every line deliberate. Controlled. So like him.
Then she reached the end.
Her voice faltered.
"I love you."
The room went completely still.
Those three words lingered heavier than anything else he had written.
Leah's hand rose to her mouth.
She pressed the letter to her chest as tears spilled silently down her face.
"He thinks he's protecting me," she whispered.
No one contradicted her.
Because he was.
Elias stepped forward slowly. "What else does it say?"
She handed him the letter without looking up.
He read it quickly.
His eyes sharpened at one name.
"Dr. Kael Virelli."
Dante frowned. "You recognize it?"
Elias shook his head slowly. "A bit."
Leah wiped at her cheeks with trembling fingers.
"He remembered more," she said. "He went through the archives."
Dante's brows furrowed. "He's hunting answers."
"Yes."
Her voice was quiet but firm.
"He won't stop until he finds them."
Elias folded the letter carefully. "And if he confronts this doctor alone—."
"He won't lose control," Leah said quickly.
Dante looked at her.
"You don't know that."
She finally met his gaze.
"I know him."
Silence followed.
Then softer, almost breaking—
"He doesn't know."
Elias's eyes flickered briefly toward her abdomen before returning to her face.
"No," he said quietly. "He doesn't."
The weight of it pressed down on all three of them.
If Izana discovered the truth now—while believing he was unstable, dangerous, engineered—
It would destroy him.
Leah's hand drifted downward again.
This time she noticed.
Her fingers curled slightly against the empty space.
Her breath hitched.
Dante stepped closer. "Leah…"
She shook her head.
"I'm fine."
It wasn't true.
But she held herself together anyway.
She took the letter back from Elias and smoothed it gently, as if it were fragile glass.
"He came home," she murmured.
"Yes," Elias replied.
"But he didn't stay."
Her eyes filled again.
"He couldn't."
The realization hurt in a different way.
He had stood in this room.
Written these words.
Touched this pillow.
And still walked away.
Leah lay back slowly against the pillows.
The letter rested against her chest.
"I'll wait," she whispered.
Dante hesitated at the doorway. "For how long?"
She stared at the ceiling.
"As long as it takes."
Elias turned toward the door.
"I'll start looking into Virelli immediately."
He paused before leaving.
"And Leah… if we find Izana before he finds the doctor, we bring him home."
She closed her eyes.
"Bring him back safe."
After they left, the room felt too quiet.
Too large.
Leah read the letter again.
Slower.
When she reached the final line—
"I love you."
Her breathing trembled.
She pressed the paper gently against her abdomen without thinking.
And froze.
The reality hit her all over again.
He would never know.
Not yet.
Not while he was out there chasing ghosts.
Tears slipped silently into her hair.
"Come back to me," she whispered into the empty room.
Downstairs, Elias was already making calls.
Searching for a doctor who helped create a weapon.
And somewhere far from the mansion—
Izana was moving toward the past.
Unaware of what had already been lost.