Leon stared at the photo.
It couldn't be real.
Ayla. Sitting with Viper. Smiling like she wasn't supposed to be missing, like she hadn't been taken. Like she wanted to be there.
His grip on the phone tightened, jaw locked so hard it ached. He looked again, eyes scanning every inch. Her posture wasn't stiff. Her eyes weren't pleading. There was no guard lurking nearby to suggest she was being watched.
She looked at ease.
Too at ease.
He slammed the phone against the table, the screen cracking slightly under the pressure. Kalen, who had been playing with a small wooden puzzle on the rug, jolted and looked up.
"Leon?" his tiny voice asked, blinking wide eyes full of worry.
Leon closed his eyes and forced a deep breath, calming the rage. "It's nothing, kiddo. Go back to your puzzle."
But it wasn't nothing.
It was betrayal. Or worse—confusion he couldn't explain.
He walked to the window, trying to piece it all together. Could she have found out something about Viper? Could this be a twisted game? Was she undercover? No… She wouldn't risk herself without telling him. And if Daniel had forced her into this again—but then why would she look so content?
He grabbed his coat and keys.
Leon to Nico: "Don't let them out of your sight. I'm coming."
The reply came instantly.
Nico: "They're on foot. Just entered a boutique on Hillview. I'll stall."
Leon drove like a storm waiting to be unleashed. The city blurred around him—honking cars, traffic lights, flashing signs. None of it mattered. His world had shrunk down to one image: Ayla, her hand brushing Viper's as they laughed.
Was she one of them?
No.
He refused to believe it.
But doubt—poisonous and slow—began to creep in.
Every moment they'd shared flashed before him. The nights. The kisses. The way her voice broke when she told him about Daniel. The nightmares she whispered about. The trust.
Was it all a lie?
Or was there something deeper she hadn't told him?
When Leon reached Hillview, he parked two blocks away and rushed down the sidewalk, scanning every face, every shop window. Nico emerged from the alley across the street, nodding toward a boutique entrance.
Leon's fingers twitched toward his gun, then dropped. No. Not yet.
Not until he saw her eyes.
He needed to see them—needed to know.
If Ayla had turned… if she had truly betrayed him…
He didn't know what he'd do.
But one thing was clear.
This wasn't just about love anymore.
It was about loyalty. Blood. And war.