"And she loves him," Aylin said softly, noticing Emma’s posts about her dad over the years. "She really loves him. When she finds out, "

"It’s going to crush her," Zayden finished.

Just then, the office door swung open, and Leo walked in with his phone glued to his ear. "Yeah, I’m at the office now. One sec." He glanced at Zayden and Aylin. "It’s Selina. I’m putting her on speaker."

He hit a button, and Selina’s voice filled the room. "Leo, what’s up? You sounded pretty urgent."

"We need to know if you’ve heard about someone named Alexander Kane," Leo said. "Does that name mean anything to you?"

There was a pause. "Alexander Kane? Nope, I don’t know anyone by that name. Who’s he?"

Leo glanced at Zayden, who nodded for him to keep going. "We think he’s been linked to Alpha for years, maybe even decades."

"What?" Selina’s voice turned sharp. "Leo, I’ve been with Alpha from childhood. That name’s never come up, not once."

"You sure about that?" Aylin asked, moving closer to the phone. "Think about it, Selina. Was there ever any mention of someone from Alpha’s past? Someone he worked with on secret operations?"

Another pause, and this one was longer. When Selina finally spoke, her voice was colder. "No. And that’s the problem, right?"

"What do you mean?" Zayden asked.

"I mean, Alpha told me I was his partner," Selina said bitterly. "That we were working together and he trusted me with everything. But if he’s got someone like Alexander Kane on his team, someone I don’t even know about..."

"He’s keeping secrets from you," Leo finished.

"From the beginning," Selina confirmed, her anger creeping in. "I thought I understood his whole operation. I thought I was in the loop. But clearly, there are parts of Alpha’s network I don’t have access to."

Aylin and Zayden exchanged looks.

"How deep does this go?" Selina asked. "What’s Alexander Kane’s connection to Alpha?"

"We’re still figuring that out," Zayden said carefully. "But it reaches back at least fourteen years. Maybe longer."

"Fourteen years," Selina repeated. "Before I even came along in this mess."

"Maybe way before," Leo confirmed.

There was silence on the line. When Selina spoke again, her voice was eerily calm. "I need to know everything you have about Alexander Kane. If Alpha’s been hiding him from me, there’s definitely a reason, and I need to figure out what it is."

"We’ll send you what we’ve got," Zayden said. "But Selina, be careful. If Alpha realizes you’re looking into this, "

"I’m always careful," Selina interrupted. "But Leo, I need you to get this. I’ve been risking my neck giving you info about Alpha’s inner circle. And now I find out there’s a whole other layer I didn’t even know existed."

"We get it," Leo said quietly.

"Do you?" Selina’s tone was sharp. "Because honestly, I’m starting to doubt everything Alpha has told me. Every mission, every plan, every promise. If he’s been lying about Alexander Kane, what else is he covering up?"

Aylin leaned in closer to the phone. "Selina, stay put. Don’t let Alpha catch wind that you’re suspicious. We need more time to figure out what Alexander’s up to."

"Alright," Selina said. "But you’d better tell me the second you find anything solid about Alexander Kane and his connection to Alpha. I mean it."

"You got it," Zayden assured her.

"And Leo?" Selina’s voice softened a bit. "Be careful. If Alexander’s been working with Alpha for fourteen years and I’ve never heard of him, he’s clearly good at staying under the radar, which makes him a threat."

"I know," Leo replied. "You be careful too."

The call ended, and Leo put his phone in his pocket, looking troubled. "She’s right. If Alpha’s been hiding Alexander Kane, even from someone as close as Selina, we’re dealing with a much bigger situation than we thought."

"Much bigger," Aylin agreed, turning back to her screens. "Alexander isn’t just some random operative. He’s been Alpha’s secret weapon for over a decade."

Zayden’s phone buzzed. He checked it and frowned. "It’s Zayn. They just left the hospital. Emma and Alexander are heading home."

"Did anything happen?" Leo asked.

"Nope. Liam said the visit was totally normal. Alexander didn’t seem to recognize Ayla, and Liam didn’t know him either." Zayden glanced at Aylin. "How much time do we have before this blows up?"

Aylin pulled up another screen with Alexander Kane’s known aliases and operations. "Not much. If Alexander starts digging into who Ayla really is, and if he connects her to Marcus Alston..."

"He’ll figure out she’s the witness," Zayden finished. "The one person who can ID him as Sibel’s killer."

"And Emma’s friends with her," Leo added. "Which puts Emma right in the thick of this."

"We need to move fast," Zayden decided. "Aylin, pull together everything you’ve found. Every piece of evidence, every connection. We need a solid case against Alexander before we make our move."

"On it," Aylin said, already organizing files.

"And Leo, tell Selina to keep her ears open. If Alpha or Maksim mentions Alexander, we need to know ASAP."

"Will do."

Zayden moved to the window, looking out at the city lights. "Alexander Kane has been hiding in plain sight for fourteen years, acting like the devoted single dad while working for one of the most dangerous criminals around."

"The real question is," Aylin said quietly, "what will happen when Emma finds out who her dad really is?"

None of them had an answer.

Because the truth is, when Emma Kane’s world comes crashing down, there won’t be any way to shield her from the fallout.

Meanwhile, somewhere in the city, Alexander Kane was tucking his daughter into bed, completely unaware that his carefully crafted life was about to fall apart.

*****

In Alpha’s penthouse office, Selina stood by the huge windows, arms crossed as she looked out at the city below. She had been there for over an hour, and Alpha had hardly paid any attention to her.