The sun rose too bright for a day like this.
Snow still clung to the edges of the estate, untouched, pristine—
a lie.
Because beneath it, something had already begun to rot.
——
—MARIA—
Maria didn't inform anyone when she left.
She didn't need permission.
Not anymore.
The gates opened for her in silence, the guards lowering their eyes just enough to pretend they hadn't noticed the urgency in her steps.
But Maria felt it.
That shift.
Since the night of the fire…
since the photograph…
Nothing moved without being watched.
The restaurant sat far from the city—quiet, almost forgotten.
Perfect.
Helene was already there.
Seated in the far corner. Back to the wall. Eyes sharp.
Waiting.
Maria slid into the seat across from her, her voice low.
"You said it couldn't wait."
Helene didn't respond right away. Instead, she leaned forward slowly— as if the words themselves were dangerous.
"Someone found the estate in Romania."
Maria's fingers stilled on the table.
That wasn't possible.
It was hidden. Protected. Unknown.
"Who?" she asked quietly.
Helene's gaze didn't waver.
"I don't know."
A pause.
Then—
"But I saw her."
Maria's pulse spiked.
Helene reached up and pulled her scarf down just enough to reveal part of her face. A faint bruise marked her skin, recent but not severe.
"She didn't attack," Helene continued softly.
"She didn't speak much either."
Another pause.
"But when she looked at me…"
Helene's voice dropped to almost nothing.
"…she had our mother's eyes."
Silence.
Heavy.
Crushing.
Maria's breath caught.
Because she remembered.
That call.
Days ago.
A voice she couldn't place.
A question she hadn't understood.
Do you think she'll be happy to see me… mirror her?
Her stomach tightened.
"Our mother collapsed," Helene added.
"Right after she saw her."
Maria's head snapped up.
"What?"
"She's in the hospital. Father's with her."
The words landed like blows.
"She kept repeating one thing before she passed out," Helene whispered.
Maria's voice was barely steady.
"What did she say?"
Helene held her gaze.
As if once she said it—there was no going back.
"She's not the one who died."
Something inside Maria went cold.
Not fear.
Not yet.
Understanding.
A twin.
A hidden past.
A lie buried for years—
And suddenly…
Alive.
Maria leaned back slowly, her thoughts colliding.
Their mother.
The twin.
Mikhail's missing mother.
All of it—
Connected.
It had to be.
Because nothing like this was a coincidence.
Not in their world.
"Who is she?" Maria asked finally.
Helene shook her head.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"But she knew us."
Maria's chest tightened.
"How?"
Helene's lips parted slightly.
"…she said your name."
Silence swallowed the table whole.
— THE ESTATE—
By the time Maria returned—
The air had changed.
Colder.
Sharper.
Waiting.
Mikhail stood in the entrance hall.
Still.
Unmoving.
Watching.
Not her arrival.
Her timing.
She stopped a few steps away.
Met his gaze.
Didn't look away.
Not anymore.
His voice came first.
Low.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
"Anyone involved in attempting to erase my bloodline…"
A pause.
His eyes locked onto hers.
"…will not see the light of day."
The words weren't loud.
They didn't need to be.
They were a warning.
A promise.
Maria didn't flinch.
Didn't step back.
Instead—
She stepped closer.
Just enough to break the distance he had set.
"I'm not your enemy, Mikhail."
Her voice was calm.
But unyielding.
"I'm looking for the same thing you are."
A beat.
"The truth."
His gaze darkened slightly.
Not anger.
Recognition.
Calculation.
"You assume we're looking for the same answers," he said.
Maria held his stare.
"I know we are."
A pause.
"And if we're not…"
Her voice dropped.
Colder.
"…then one of us is already too late."
Silence stretched.
Tight.
Dangerous.
Mikhail stepped closer.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Until the air between them shifted—
And something unspoken burned beneath it.
"Be careful, Maria," he murmured.
"Because the closer you get to the truth…"
A pause.
His voice lowered further.
"…the less you'll belong to yourself."
He walked past her.
Without another word.
But Maria didn't move.
Because for the first time—
She wasn't sure if he was warning her…
Or claiming her.
—MIKHAIL—
The call connected on the first ring.
He didn't waste time.
"Aurélie."
A pause.
Then her voice—
Soft.
Dangerous.
Amused.
"I was wondering when you'd call."
Mikhail's tone didn't change.
"We need to talk."
A beat.
"About yesterday."
A soft laugh.
Low.
Knowing.
"Or about what it revealed?"
Silence.
Then—
"Location," he said.
Aurélie didn't hesitate.
"Come find me."
A pause.
Her voice dropped—sharper now.
More deliberate.
"I think it's time you stopped pretending you don't see it too."
The line went dead.
—ENDING—
Maria stood alone in the corridor.
Still.
Silent.
Thinking.
A twin.
A hidden truth.
A war is already moving.
Her phone vibrated.
Once.
Unknown number.
She stared at it.
For a second too long.
Then answered.
"Hello?"
Silence.
Then—
A voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
Impossible.
"Maria…"
A breath.
Shallow.
Fragile.
"…you need to run."
Her heart stopped.
Because she knew that voice.
"Mother?"
A pause.
Then—
A whisper.
Broken.
Terrified.
"No…"
The line cracked.
Static tearing through it.
And then—
"She found me."
The call cut.
Dead.
Maria stood frozen.
Her hand was tightening slowly around the phone.
—-
Because somewhere out there—
Something that wore her mother's face…
Was no longer hiding.