Sarah smiled through her tears, gently interrupting Aylin. "I get what you mean. He thought she was born early, premature. Luckily, my doctor was my best friend; she bent the rules and backed me up. It saved all of us."

Aylin nodded, trying to process everything, shock still buzzing inside her.

Zayden, serious again, asked, "So, you were telling us about the job."

Sarah nodded, wiping her eyes and getting it together. "Right. I thought Michael had turned over a new leaf and wanted a fresh start with me. But after three years, those pics of other girls made me question things. I dug deeper and found out he was still neck-deep in that sketchy business. He had really fooled me. So I decided to get back at him. And then she showed up." She pointed at Aylin, her eyes bright with pride.

"The brilliant whiz who can hack encryption layers in no time. You were raw talent. I started you off with small jobs, and you absolutely crushed them, clean and professional every single time."

Aylin gasped in realization. "You were the one giving out jobs through Ghost Net?"

Sarah nodded, her dimples reappearing. "Not the real Ghost Net; I was an assistant who used their accounts. They knew what I was doing, but didn’t stop me. I set you up with jobs and watched you shine. Then I sent you to Germany for more training and martial arts. You nailed it and became a total force. When you came back, I gave you a risky job, and you totally aced it. I saw you were ready for what I needed."

Zayden, curious, asked, "Which was?"

Sarah’s voice was steady. "To dig into Michael Arthur, every secret from his breath to his bed. I was sure that once you uncovered the dirt, you’d expose him. I didn’t hold you back; I helped you from behind the scenes."

Aylin’s mind was racing, the shock hitting her hard. "The first capture... I hacked the system and flipped the auction stream to their files..."

Sarah nodded, pride and emotion on her face. "That was your genius. But I helped make it happen. The second time, with your sister, I didn’t know at first. It slipped under my radar and still haunts me. Then I found out Jax and Jane were there, acting on Zayden’s orders, but he had no contact with them. So I became HK and messaged them to rescue you and Ayla."

Leo laughed, trying to ease the heavy feeling. "You pretended to be the Bos, our Z? That’s bold."

Sarah smiled, a warmth returning to her expression, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. And it worked, didn’t it?"

Aylin said softly, "And Liam? He showed up like a ghost."

Sarah nodded, "It’s weird how he knew. He seems like a decent guy from what I saw."

Reyes asked, sounding gruff, "You were watching all of us?"

Sarah tilted her head, looking innocent. "Yeah. Then Aylin just vanished after the hospital. I couldn’t find her; even Ghost Net didn’t work. Pretty impressive. It reminds me of our old hacker who’s gone now. Do you have a brother, Lunel?"

Aylin smiled, looking soft and tender. "No, brother, but Reyes is like a big brother to me. He taught me how to hide and stay one step ahead of our enemies."

Sarah nodded, grinning at Reyes, who responded with a rough nod but had a warm look in his eyes.

She continued, tears streaming down her face. "A week ago, your server pinged. I thought you were dead. Thank goodness you turned it on. I knew Zayden was calling you here. I was watching everything, hacked into the CCTVs to keep an eye on Maksim and Michael. I saw your drone hacks; the software matched William’s. I searched hard and found, you’re all chasing him. I saw the raid, and you brought him back safe. I came running,"

Her voice broke as she sobbed. "I want to see my husband. Please. I need him."

No one spoke. Even Zayden looked away.

Then Aylin stepped closer, still in shock but feeling empathetic. She hugged Sarah tightly, sensing the woman trembling. "He’s fine. Resting. You can go to him."

Sarah hung on to Aylin, whispering thanks, her tears soaking Aylin’s shoulder. "You... you saved him. Saved us."

Aylin pulled back and nodded to Jax and Jane. "Take her."

Jax led her forward, saying, "This way, ma’am."

Jane, unusually kind, added, "He’s just down the hall."

They guided her out—Jax in front and Jane right behind, moving like a protective shadow.

The office door clicked shut.

Silence filled the space, heavy and tense.

Zayden let out a breath, rubbing his temples like he was trying to ease a headache. "Black Panther. William’s wife. She’s been watching us for years."

Aylin, her eyes a bit misty from the emotions, replied, "She helped us. Me. Without me even knowing. The tests, the jobs... she shaped me into this."

Leo leaned against the wall, arms crossed, cracking a joke to lighten the mood. "That makes sense, why you always seemed one step ahead, Lunel. You had a fairy godmother hacker pulling the strings."

Reyes let out a rough chuckle. "Smart lady. She really knows how to play the long game."

Leo joked, "Why do you both have male names? I thought Black Panther was a man, but it turned out to be a woman. And the same goes for you, Lunel. I thought you were a man, but here you are, a little girl."

Aylin glared at him. "I’m not a little girl."

Zayden smiled and said, "Don’t tease my hacker girl." He playfully kissed her cheek.

Leo rolled his eyes dramatically. "You both, ugh."

Zayden’s smile faded as a serious look crossed his face. "She knows our plans, who we are, and where we are. If she’s for real, there’s potential for a solid partnership. But what if she’s not? What if this is just a front?"

Aylin squeezed his hand, trying to reassure him. "I felt it was genuine. The tears, the whole story, there was real emotion there."

Zayden pressed a soft, flirty kiss to her knuckles. "Fingers crossed you’re right, babe. For William’s sake."