The moment Collin was dragged away, the tension that had gripped the air finally began to crack.

But the aftermath... was far from calm.

Anna’s body gave in.

The adrenaline that had kept her standing drained all at once, and her knees buckled. If Daniel hadn’t caught her in time, she would have collapsed onto the rough ground.

"Careful," Daniel said, steadying her, his voice tight with restrained fear.

Anna winced as a sharp wave of pain pulsed through her head. The world tilted slightly, her vision blurring at the edges.

"I’m okay..." she murmured, though her voice betrayed her.

"You’re not," Daniel replied firmly.

Hugo and Norma reached them within seconds, his usually composed face pale with panic.

"Anna!" he called out, his voice breaking as he crouched beside her. "Are you hurt? Let me see—"

"I said I’m fine," Anna tried to insist, but even she could hear how weak it sounded.

A police officer stepped forward. "We need medical assistance here. She’s bleeding."

That was when Hugo saw it clearly—the streak of blood near her hairline.

His breath hitched.

"This is because of him..." Hugo muttered, his hands trembling slightly. "All of this..."

Anna slowly shook her head.

"No," she whispered. "This ends with him."

Behind them, Collin was being forced into a police vehicle.

Even now, restrained and surrounded, he carried an unsettling calm. His eyes scanned the scene one last time before landing on Anna.

There was no remorse in them. Only something darker. Something unfinished.

Anna held his gaze. Unflinching watching the door shut on him .And just like that— Collin was gone.

***

The flashing lights still painted the night when the ambulance arrived.

Paramedics quickly moved in, checking Anna’s vitals, cleaning the blood, and securing a bandage around her head.

"You’re lucky," one of them said gently. "That could’ve been worse."

Anna gave a faint, humorless smile. "I’ve had worse," she murmured.

Daniel didn’t like that answer. Not one bit.

He stood close, arms crossed tightly, his eyes never leaving her—as if the moment he looked away, something else might happen.

"You shouldn’t have taken that risk," he said after a moment, his voice low but edged.

Anna glanced at him. "And let him shoot Hugo?" she asked.

Daniel didn’t respond immediately. Because he knew she was right.

Still, that didn’t make it easier.

"You don’t always have to be the one who steps in," he said finally.

Anna’s expression softened, but there was something resolute in her eyes.

"Maybe not," she admitted. "But tonight... I had to."

Silence stretched between them. Not uncomfortable. Just heavy with everything that had happened.

A little distance away, Hugo stood alone.

For the first time in years, the truth had been laid bare.

No more secrets. No more lies. But instead of relief... there was only a hollow weight in his chest.

"Sir."

Hugo turned slightly as one of the officers approached.

"We’ll be reopening George’s case," the officer informed him. "Now that we have your statement—and Collin in custody—things will move quickly."

Hugo nodded slowly.

"Make sure his name is cleared," he said, his voice firm despite the emotion beneath it. "He deserves that much."

"We will."

As the officer walked away, Hugo exhaled deeply.

"George..." he murmured under his breath.

Too late for apologies.

But not too late for justice.

***

Near the ambulance, Anna was now sitting up, a blanket draped over her shoulders.

Kathrine rushed toward her the moment she was allowed through the police line.

"Anna!" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees beside her. "Oh my God—are you okay? I heard what happened and I—"

"I’m okay," Anna reassured her softly as he looked back where Ethan walked towards her too.

He had finally found her sister, and that was more than enough.

Kathrine, on the other hand, wasn’t convinced. Despite looking like a mess herself, she was worried for her sister.

"You call this okay?" she gestured to the bandage. "You were kidnapped, nearly shot, and dragged to a cliff!"

Anna let out a small sigh. "When you put it like that..." she wanted to correct, but Kathrine cut in.

"It is like that,"

Anna reached out, squeezing her hand gently. "I’m still here," she said, adding, "...and I am glad that you too are.

That seemed to calm Kathrine—at least a little—before she pulled Anna into a hug.

"We did it," she muttered, and Anna nodded, caressing her back in assurance.

"Yes, we did."

***

[Clafford Mansion]

For the first time in what felt like forever, the mansion was quiet.

Not the eerie, suffocating silence that had once wrapped itself around every corridor—but a calm, settling stillness. The kind that came after chaos had burned itself out.

Collin had been taken away in handcuffs. Hugo had finally faced the truth about George and Norma. And Daniel... Daniel had gotten the justice he had chased for years—for his father, for himself.

Everything had finally fallen into place.

And yet, none of that mattered to him as much as the woman standing in front of him.

Anna.

Safe. Breathing. Alive.

That alone felt like a miracle.

"Daniel... you are choking me," Anna complained, her voice muffled against his chest as his arms tightened around her for what felt like the hundredth time.

Daniel froze for a brief second before loosening his hold—but only slightly, as if afraid that letting go completely would somehow make her disappear.

When he pulled back just enough to look at her, he caught the mischievous wink she threw at him.

His expression instantly hardened.

"You are still joking about this?" His voice dropped, thick with restrained emotion. "Wifey, just because nothing severe happened doesn’t mean nothing happened."

Anna blinked, her playful expression faltering slightly.

Daniel continued, his gaze sweeping over her face before stopping at the bandage wrapped around her head. His jaw clenched.

"You have a bandage on your head, Anna." His voice cracked, the raw fear he had buried breaking through. "Does that not scare you? Because it scared me."

The room fell silent.

Anna had never seen him like this—not even in the worst of their battles. There was no anger in his eyes, no arrogance, no sharp teasing edge.

Only fear. 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Real, unfiltered fear.

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out.

Because the truth was... she hadn’t thought about it that way.

She hadn’t seen what he had seen.

She hadn’t felt what he had felt.

Daniel exhaled slowly, dragging a hand through his hair as if trying to steady himself.

"You have no idea what I went through," he said quietly, his voice losing its sharpness and turning into something far more dangerous—something vulnerable.

Anna’s heart tightened.

And she knew he was right.

She didn’t know.

She didn’t know how his heart must have stopped when he realized she was gone.

She didn’t know how every second must have felt like torture as he searched for her.

She didn’t know how close he must have come to losing himself.

Daniel’s eyes darkened slightly, his thoughts drifting back despite himself.

He had trusted his instincts.

From the moment Collin took Anna, something inside him had screamed that something was wrong—that time was slipping through his fingers.

He hadn’t hesitated.

With Clement by his side, he had followed every lead, every trace, every faint possibility. He had tailed Collin like a shadow, refusing to let him out of his sight.

Because deep down, he knew—

If he lost him this time...

He would never forgive himself.

Ever.

Daniel’s gaze softened again when he looked back at Anna, who was now quietly watching him, her earlier playfulness completely gone.

Her lips pressed into a small pout, as if she wanted to lighten the mood but didn’t know how.

And just like that, something inside him melted.

His hand reached out almost instinctively, brushing against her cheek with a gentleness that contrasted everything he had just said.

But even as he looked at her...

Even as relief flooded his chest...

There was something else.

Something darker.

Something that refused to let him rest.

His eyes flickered—just for a second.

Because no matter how much he wanted to ignore it...

He couldn’t forget.

He couldn’t forget the moment that had shaken him to his core.

A heavy silence fell between them.

It wasn’t loud. It wasn’t chaotic.

But it pressed down on the room, thick and suffocating—like something unseen had just stepped into their space.

Daniel’s gaze darkened, his fingers slowly dropping from Anna’s cheek.

"I heard everything you said to Collin... on that cliff," he said at last, his voice low—too controlled, too calm.

The kind of calm that came before something broke.

Anna didn’t flinch.

Instead, her expression softened.

Not in guilt.

Not in fear.

But in something far more fragile.

Understanding.

For a moment, she simply looked at him—as if weighing how much to say, how much he was ready to hear.

Then she stepped closer.

"Then you must also know..." her voice was quiet, but steady, "he didn’t just kill me."

Daniel’s brows furrowed, something cold sliding down his spine.

Anna held his gaze, her eyes no longer playful, no longer light.

They were heavy.

Filled with something ancient. Something painful.

"He killed you too, Daniel."

The words hit like a silent explosion.

Daniel froze.

His mind went blank for a second—as if it refused to process what she had just said.

But before he could react, before he could question it—

Anna continued.

"And Kathrine."

This time, the silence wasn’t just heavy, but bothersome.