The name echoed in Caspian's mind.
It felt strange.
Unfamiliar.
But somehow… important.
The hallway was completely silent after Riven spoke it.
Her mother looked like the air had been knocked out of her lungs.
"You shouldn't have told her that," she said quietly.
Riven didn't respond.
Caspian's heart was racing.
"That's my real name?" she asked.
Riven nodded once.
"Yes."
She repeated it softly under her breath, trying to make sense of it.
"But why would anyone hunt someone just because of a name?"
Her mother stepped forward suddenly.
"It's not just a name," she said.
Caspian looked at her.
"Then what is it?"
Her mother hesitated.
For the first time since this conversation started, she looked unsure of what to say next.
"That name belongs to a family," she finally said.
"A very powerful family."
Caspian frowned.
"Powerful how?"
Riven answered before her mother could.
"The kind of powerful that people kill for."
The words sent a chill through her.
Caspian shook her head.
"You're saying my real family is dangerous?"
Riven's expression darkened.
"Not dangerous."
He paused.
"Feared."
The hallway suddenly felt smaller.
"So they tried to kill me?" Caspian whispered.
Her mother immediately shook her head.
"No."
Caspian turned toward her.
"Then who did?"
Her mother's lips pressed into a thin line.
"There are people who don't want that family to exist anymore," she said.
"And you," Riven added quietly,
"are the last connection to them."
Caspian stared at him.
"Last connection?"
Riven nodded slowly.
"That's why you were hidden."
The pieces began falling into place.
Her fake childhood.
The lies.
The secrets.
The shooting.
"Someone found out who I was," she said slowly.
"Yes," Riven confirmed.
"And they tried to kill me."
"Yes."
Her heart tightened.
"And you… stepped in front of the bullet."
Riven didn't look away.
"That was the plan."
Her breath caught.
"Plan?"
Riven's voice became quieter.
"I was assigned to protect you."
Assigned.
The word felt strange.
"You were protecting me even before that night?" she asked.
"Yes."
Her mother let out a frustrated sigh.
"You're telling her too much."
Caspian turned toward her sharply.
"No," she said firmly.
"Not enough."
She looked back at Riven.
"If you were protecting me… then why didn't you ever tell me who I really was?"
For a moment, Riven didn't speak.
Then he said something that made her chest tighten.
"Because you were never meant to survive long enough to find out."
The words felt like ice.
Caspian's eyes widened.
"What?"
"The attack that night wasn't random," he continued.
"It was meant to erase the last trace of your family."
Her heartbeat pounded loudly in her ears.
"And if you hadn't taken the bullet…"
Riven finished the sentence quietly.
"You would be the one who died that night."
The truth settled heavily between them.
But one terrifying question still remained.
If someone wanted her dead before…
What would they do now that they knew she was still alive?