MasukKara got home just before evening fully settled in. She didn’t linger downstairs or greet anyone longer than necessary. She went straight to her room, changed out of her clothes, washed her face, and took a steady breath like she was bracing herself for something important. Once she felt a little calmer, she stepped back into the hallway and headed for Jairo’s room.She was sure he would be home by now.She knocked lightly at his door. There was no response but she knew him well enough to guess what that silence meant. Carefully, she pushed the door open just a bit and peeked inside. Jairo was stretched on the bed with his laptop balanced on his thighs, his attention fully locked on the screen. That alone told her he was busy.“I can come back,” she said softly, already preparing to retreat.“You’re here already,” he muttered without lifting his eyes.She pressed her lips together, the card in her hand feeling heavier than it should have. She walked farther into the room and sat very
Eva sat on the edge of the bed, a book resting on her thighs. Her fingers held the pages open but she hadn’t read a word for minutes. Her mind was elsewhere.A soft knock came at the door and she stiffened out of habit. When a lighter, hesitant knock followed, her body relaxed slightly. She knew that knock.The door opened and Kaicus stepped inside, carrying a tray. Relief washed over her, loosening the tightness in her chest.“Hi,” she said, a small smile slipping out before she realized it. Kaicus returned it and the familiar exchange played out between them.His eyes lingered briefly on her throat, ensuring she had swallowed her pills before offering the candy as usual. As soon as the door clicked shut behind him, she bolted upright and rushed to the bathroom. She shoved her fingers deep down her throat, gagging hard enough to force herself to vomit the pills.She stared down at the pills in the sink, breathing heavily, her chest rising and falling. Since the last time she threw up
The building was already buzzing when Kara arrived. She stopped just outside the entrance, her fingers tightened around the strap of her bag as she took everything in. Her heart was beating too fast and for a moment, she wondered if she had made a mistake coming here.Then she stepped inside.Her eyes scanned the room without meaning to, landing on girls who were clearly taller than her, slimmer, more polished. Their faces were flawless. Their posture screamed experience.A familiar knot formed in her chest. She exhaled slowly, forcing herself to keep walking.“Kara.”She turned sharply at the voice just to see Leo was standing a few steps away.“Oh my God, Leo!” she exclaimed over the loud noise around them, walking straight into his arms.“It feels like it's been months,” he said softly near her ear.“I know, right,” she replied, her voice slightly shaky.When they pulled apart, he looked at her properly, his eyes sweeping over her face then down to her outfit. He nodded in approval
Jairo arrived at the office with a restless mind and Donald didn’t waste any time filling him in on everything he had uncovered. The woman and her family lived not too far from the city. Their house address had already been secured. The boy Jairo had seen earlier turned out to be a student at Luci’s school, which didn’t surprise him in the least. The husband’s name was Anton, the woman was Victoria and the boy was their youngest son, Edward.In the middle of their discussion, Donald mentioned Eva to be the name of the woman they found with Salvatore. And that she was in Italy.Jairo intended to brush past that detail and focus solely on reuniting Kara with her foster parents. That was his new goal at the moment. But for some reason, the name refused to leave his thoughts. He instructed Donald to dig deeper into everything connected to Eva while he personally focused on Kara’s foster parents. Not long after, his phone buzzed with a message from Luci, informing him that school had clo
“What’s wrong, sir?” the woman asked gently. Her accent made it obvious she wasn’t Italian.Jairo snapped out of his frozen state almost immediately. He forced his expression back to normal, shook his head once and turned away from her. He entered his car but before starting the engine, he leaned slightly and looked through the tinted window, his eyes locking onto the car plate number beside which the woman stood.His grip tightened around the steering wheel.He had only ever seen her in pictures. Yet here she was, standing right in front of him, alive, breathing and real. Against all odds, he had met her here. After all these years.His gaze didn’t leave her even as the car engine hummed. He watched as she continued talking to a boy standing beside her. The boy looked relaxed, or slightly upset by what the woman was saying to him. Jairo quickly lifted his phone and discreetly took pictures of the boy, the woman and the car plate number. Only then did he drive off.Going to work was
Dinner passed quietly, the soft clinking of cutlery filling the room. Luci barely touched her food while Kara kept stealing glances at her. The silent exchange didn’t go unnoticed for long.Jairo saw it but chose to ignore it at first. When it became obvious that something was being avoided, he finally spoke.“I didn’t get to ask you about your first day yesterday. Did you like the school?” he asked calmly.Luci turned to him and nodded. “It was fun,” she said, then hesitated. “But… a girl tried to push me yesterday.”His brows pulled together. “She did?”“Yes.”“Why would she do that?” he asked, genuinely confused.Luci glanced at Kara, who gave her a small nod, urging her to continue.“We bumped into each other. She grabbed my hair to pull me back. I yanked myself free and a senior intervened. Unfortunately, I ran into her again today. She did the same thing, but… I reacted wrongly… and we got into a fight.”Jairo stayed quiet, processing the story. His face didn’t change but Luci’s







