Chapter 225: Lower the gun, Viktor

Viktor came in first, moving fast, as every part of him had already decided something was wrong before his mind had caught up. Marcus was right behind him, and Manuel behind Marcus, all three of them entering quietly, the kind that let them cross a room and be standing in the middle of it before anyone inside even realized the air had changed.

Even Helena, whose senses had been trained to catch a held breath from three rooms away, did not hear them come in.

"Are you okay, baby?" Viktor said, his eyes locking on Sienna first, quick and searching, checking her face, her hands, the space around her, before he turned. His arm came up in one smooth motion, and the gun in his hand found Helena and held steady there, aimed straight at her chest.

Helena did not flinch. She rolled her eyes, slow and unbothered, and met his gaze for the first time.

And that was when it happened. Viktor’s eyes moved over her face, over the shape of her jaw, the color of her eyes, the exact tilt of her mouth, and something in him went still. He saw it. The resemblance. Right there, staring back at him down the barrel of his own gun, was Sienna’s face twenty years older.

He knew, in that instant, exactly who she was.

Behind him, Marcus stood frozen, his mouth slightly open, his eyes moving back and forth between the two women’s faces like he was trying to convince himself he was not seeing double.

Manuel, standing a little apart from the others, only smiled, slow and knowing, as if some private joke of his had just been confirmed.

For a moment, no one in the hallway moved. The gun stayed raised. Helena stood exactly where she was, calm, unbothered, as though a weapon pointed at her chest was nothing more than a mild inconvenience.

"The face that launches a thousand ships," Manuel murmured under his breath, almost to himself, his eyes running slowly over Helena’s face. He let out a low whistle, appreciative that he could not quite help himself.

Viktor did not lower the gun. His eyes stayed fixed on Helena, studying her, trying to read what was behind that calm, unreadable face.

"You’re the one watching Sienna," he said. It was not really a question, though his voice carried the weight of one. He still could not be sure, even now, even with the resemblance sitting plain in front of him, whether this woman standing in his hallway was truly Sienna’s mother, or something else entirely, something more dangerous wearing a mother’s face. He did not know her intentions yet.

"Lower the gun, Viktor," Sienna said. Her voice was tired, but firm.

Helena’s chin lifted slightly. "Yes," she said. "I’m the one. And I’m also the one who tipped you off that Fabio’s son was in your territory."

A small edge crept into her voice now, sharp under the calm. "I thought you would have taken care of it quietly. Not drag my daughter into the very world I gave up everything to keep her away from."

Viktor’s arm lowered. Slowly, an inch at a time, until the gun hung loose at his side.

The memory came back to him all at once, sudden and vivid, the way old memories sometimes do when the right words unlock them. That rainy night at the university library where Sienna used to work, he could still remember the sound of water hitting the tall windows.

The message had arrived on his phone, short and clear. He remembered thinking he should send Marcus to deal with it, or one of the others, anyone but himself. But that night he had wanted to go himself, had wanted to send the message with his own hands.

It was the same night, he realized now, standing in this hallway a year later, that he had first met his wife. Or, if he was honest with himself, the same night he had taken her. Kidnapped her, because she happened to be standing there as a witness to the very murder he had come to carry out.

"That was you," Viktor said, out loud this time, the words slow, like he was still turning the memory over in his hands even as he said them.

"Yes," Helena said simply. "It was me."

She turned away from him then, her attention shifting fully back to Sienna, who stood in the middle of the hallway feeling everything all at once, every emotion pressing down on her at the same time, until she felt, for one strange and unwelcome moment, like a teenager again, small and lost in a room full of adults who all knew more than she did.

"Now," Helena said gently, her voice softening as she looked at Sienna, "I really need to leave now, baby." Sienna’s expression changed immediately.

"But why?" Viktor’s brow drew together. He had been watching Helena carefully since he walked into the mansion, still trying to understand what she was hiding.

Before Helena could answer, Manuel spoke from behind them. "Because she’s being tracked." His voice was calm and sounded casual.

Helena’s eyes shifted toward him for a second. But the look was sharp enough to make Manuel straighten slightly. "Great," she said dryly. "You figured that out."

Manuel’s mouth twitched. Helena turned her attention back to Sienna. "But I can’t be found until I allow it." The words settled heavily in the hallway. Sienna stared at her.

Manuel tilted his head slightly, a small satisfied smile on his face now. "Really," he said. Helena looked at him. Manuel slipped one hand into his pocket. "I got your signal a while ago, you know." Helena’s expression remained unreadable.

"I tracked the person you sent to the lab for the blood samples." He said it lightly, with pride underneath his voice. He had figured something out, and he was clearly pleased with himself even if he was trying very hard not to show it.

Helena stared at him for a moment, then a short laugh escaped her it was barely more than a breath.

"Really?" She turned fully toward him, one eyebrow rising. "You just got lucky, pretty boy." Manuel’s smile widened. "I don’t think..."

"I’ve been standing in this house for more than twenty minutes." That stopped him. Without saying anything else to Manuel, she turned back to Sienna. She walked toward her slowly. One step until there was barely any space between them.

Sienna didn’t move. Neither did Helena, for a moment, they simply looked at each other. There were so many questions sitting between them. Questions Sienna still didn’t have answers to. Helena lifted one hand and gently touched the side of Sienna’s face. Her thumb brushed against her cheek.

Then she leaned forward, her lips touched Sienna’s forehead, a soft and brief kiss, almost painfully tender. When Helena pulled away, Sienna’s eyes followed her.

"I’ll be in touch, princess." Her voice was quieter now. Just for Sienna. "Just give me some more time." Sienna swallowed. "How much more time?"

Helena hesitated only for a moment, but Sienna noticed. Helena smiled sadly. "Just a little longer." Then she stepped back.