The screen went black.
But the words remained.
THE FINAL PHASE BEGINS.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Because everyone in that room understood one thing.
This was not the end of the mystery.
It was the beginning of the truth.
Luca stared at the blank screen, his mind trying to organize everything they had discovered.
Every secret.
Every betrayal.
Every carefully placed piece of information.
But instead of answers, he only found more questions.
And one question kept returning.
Why Isabella?
Not because she was a Voss.
Not because their families had history.
Not because someone wanted to create an alliance.
Something deeper.
Something everyone had been protecting.
He looked at Isabella.
And immediately noticed something.
She was too quiet.
Not confused.
Not shocked.
Quiet.
The kind of quiet that meant something inside her was changing.
"Isabella."
She didn't answer.
"Look at me."
Slowly, she did.
And Luca saw it.
Fear.
Not the fear of danger.
Not the fear of an enemy.
Something worse.
The fear of discovering that your entire identity was built on a lie.
"What aren't you telling me?"
Her lips parted slightly.
"I don't know."
Luca studied her.
"Isabella."
"I swear."
Her voice softened.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But..."
She looked back at the screen.
"There are things my mother used to say."
Everyone became still.
"What things?" Luca asked.
She hesitated.
"Things I never understood."
"Tell me."
Isabella walked toward the old desk in the room.
Her fingers brushed against the surface.
"My mother used to tell me that the Voss family didn't survive because we were powerful."
A pause.
"She said we survived because we were trusted with something."
Luca frowned.
"Something?"
Isabella nodded.
"I always thought she meant money."
"Or influence."
"But she would always say..."
She closed her eyes.
"Some things are too dangerous to be owned."
The words settled heavily.
Valentina stepped closer.
"Your mother knew."
Isabella turned.
"Knew what?"
Valentina looked troubled.
"More than she told you."
A bitter laugh escaped Isabella.
"That seems to be the theme of everyone's life."
Nobody responded.
Because she was right.
Everyone had hidden something.
Everyone had decided they knew what was best.
And everyone had left someone else to deal with the consequences.
Luca looked at the old photographs covering the walls.
Then at the notebook.
Then at Isabella.
"We need to find the original records."
Elena looked at him.
"The ones about Project Desire?"
"No."
Luca shook his head.
"The ones before it."
Everyone looked at him.
"The beginning."
---
They spent the next several hours searching through the east wing.
The room contained more than they first realized.
Behind the walls were hidden compartments.
Behind the shelves were secret drawers.
Behind the photographs were documents.
It was as if the entire room had been designed to reveal itself slowly.
Like whoever created it wanted the truth to be discovered piece by piece.
Not all at once.
Because some truths destroyed people when they arrived too quickly.
Eventually, Elena found something.
A small wooden box.
Older than everything else in the room.
No symbol.
No name.
Just a simple lock.
Luca examined it.
"What is inside?"
Valentina looked at it.
And her expression changed.
"I have never seen that box before."
That alone made everyone cautious.
Because Valentina Moretti had spent her entire life knowing secrets.
If something existed that she didn't know about...
it mattered.
Luca tried opening it.
Nothing.
Isabella stepped closer.
"Maybe it needs something."
They searched the box.
Then Isabella noticed something.
A small marking on the side.
Not a symbol.
A word.
Remember.
Her fingers touched it.
Immediately, the lock opened.
Everyone froze.
Luca looked at her.
"How did you do that?"
She looked confused.
"I don't know."
Inside was a single letter.
And a photograph.
Luca picked up the photograph first.
And his breath stopped.
It was their parents.
But they were younger.
Much younger.
Standing together.
Not as enemies.
Not as separate families.
Together.
Behind them was a building.
A place Luca recognized.
The original Moretti estate.
But something else caught his attention.
The people standing beside them.
Lucien.
Valentina.
And...
a woman Luca had never seen before.
Isabella picked up the photograph.
"Who is she?"
Nobody answered.
Until Valentina whispered:
"Your grandmother."
Everyone turned.
"What?"
Valentina looked at the photograph.
"The woman standing beside Lucien."
She pointed.
"That is Elena Voss."
Isabella froze.
"My grandmother?"
Valentina nodded.
"Yes."
The room became silent.
Because Isabella had always believed her family history was separate.
The Morettis.
The Vosses.
Two different worlds.
But this photograph showed something else.
They were connected.
Long before Luca and Isabella.
Long before the challenge.
Long before Project Desire.
Luca opened the letter.
The handwriting was unfamiliar.
But the first line immediately caught his attention.
To the children who inherit our mistakes.
He frowned.
Children.
Not heirs.
Not successors.
Children.
He continued reading.
If you are reading this, then we failed to protect you from the truth.
A pause.
But perhaps protection was never the answer.
Isabella moved closer.
Luca read aloud.
"For generations, our families have carried a responsibility that became a curse."
"The Morettis and the Vosses were never meant to rule."
"We were meant to protect."
Luca looked confused.
"Protect what?"
He continued.
"There is something more valuable than power."
"More dangerous than money."
"More important than reputation."
A pause.
"Knowledge."
The room became still.
The letter continued.
"Long ago, our ancestors discovered a truth about human behavior."
"A truth that could be used to heal the world or control it."
Isabella whispered:
"Desire."
Luca nodded.
The letter confirmed it.
"Desire is not weakness."
"It is the strongest reflection of the human heart."
"It reveals what people value."
"What they fear."
"What they would sacrifice everything for."
A chill moved through Luca.
Because that was exactly what Celeste believed too.
But she twisted it.
She didn't want to understand people.
She wanted to control them.
The letter continued.
"Many tried to use this knowledge for power."
"The Order was created to prevent that."
Luca stopped.
"The Order wasn't created to control."
Valentina looked at him.
"No."
A pause.
"It was created to stop people from controlling."
Everyone absorbed that.
The entire history they believed was wrong.
The Order had not started as evil.
It had been corrupted.
Like everything else.
The letter continued.
"But every generation faces the same temptation."
"The temptation to believe they know better than everyone else."
"The temptation to remove choice in the name of protection."
Luca looked down.
Because those words described every person who had hurt him.
They all believed they were protecting him.
They all believed they knew better.
The letter ended with one final message.
"The greatest test will not be whether the heirs can find each other."
"The greatest test will be whether they can choose each other when they know everything."
Silence.
Because suddenly Luca understood.
The challenge was never about attraction.
It was never about desire.
It was never about whether they would fall in love.
The real test was whether the truth would destroy what they built.
---
Later that evening, Luca found Isabella standing alone on the balcony.
The city lights reflected in her eyes.
He approached quietly.
"You disappeared."
She smiled faintly.
"I needed air."
He stood beside her.
For a while, neither spoke.
Then:
"Are you afraid?"
The question was simple.
But he knew the answer mattered.
She looked at him.
"Yes."
A pause.
"Are you?"
He didn't lie.
"Yes."
That surprised her.
Because Luca Moretti admitting fear still felt unusual.
"What are you afraid of?"
He looked at the city.
"That one day we discover everything was planned."
A pause.
"That someone created the circumstances."
"That someone predicted every step."
He looked at her.
"And that we start questioning what is real."
Isabella looked down.
"Do you?"
"No."
The answer was immediate.
She looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because plans can create meetings."
A pause.
"They can create opportunities."
Another pause.
"But they cannot create what happens after."
He took her hand.
"They cannot create the way you understand me."
"The way you challenge me."
"The way you make me want to become better."
His voice softened.
"That belongs to us."
For a moment, Isabella allowed herself to believe it.
Because she needed to.
Not because she was weak.
Because after losing so much of her history...
she needed something that was hers.
---
But the peace didn't last.
Because nothing in their world ever did.
A security alarm suddenly sounded.
Luca immediately turned.
"What happened?"
A guard rushed toward them.
"Sir."
"What?"
The man's face was pale.
"We found someone."
Luca's expression changed.
"Who?"
The guard hesitated.
"Inside the archive room."
Everyone followed.
When they arrived, the room was empty.
Except for one thing.
A document placed neatly on the table.
Luca approached slowly.
He knew better than to touch anything immediately.
"Camera footage."
The security team checked.
The screen showed the archive room.
Empty.
Then suddenly...
a person appeared.
Standing there.
Already inside.
No entrance.
No movement.
Just there.
The figure turned toward the camera.
And removed the hood.
Everyone froze.
Because the face was familiar.
Not to Luca.
Not to Isabella.
But to Valentina.
Her face lost all color.
"No."
Luca looked at her.
"Who is it?"
Valentina whispered:
"Lucien's first child."
Silence.
"Your father's older sibling."
Luca stared.
"My uncle?"
Valentina nodded.
A name appeared on the screen.
Damian Moretti.
Then the figure smiled at the camera.
And a message appeared.
The final heir has arrived.
Luca looked at Isabella.
Because once again...
they had discovered something impossible.
The Moretti family had another secret.
Another person.
Another piece of the game.
And this time...
the enemy wasn't someone from outside.
It was blood.