He looked up sharply. "That makes sense. Alpha must have asked Alexander to adopt that kid."

"What?" Aylin asked. "Why would he do something like that?"

"Because they knew the background," Zayden said, his tone icy with realization. "They knew who her dad was and that her parents had turned against Alpha. But that’s not the reason Alpha called for the adoption."

"Then what is?" Aylin leaned in closer.

Before Zayden could say anything, Selina jumped in. "Because it was just easier. It was convenient."

She glanced around the room. "This was at the very beginning of Alpha’s drug operation. He didn’t have the resources or setup to really cover his tracks back then."

Reyes looked confused. "I’m not following."

"Emma’s parents were gone," Selina explained. "Elias killed them when Emma was barely a month old. There weren’t any relatives or family members who would come looking for her. If Alpha had asked Elias to adopt some random kid from an orphanage, that kid might’ve had family, grandparents, aunts, uncles, who could show up later with questions."

"Complications," Zayden said, starting to get it. "Any other kid would be a risk."

"Exactly," Selina confirmed.

"But Emma? They knew her whole story. They knew her parents were dead, knew there was no one who would be searching for her, and they realized there wouldn’t be any awkward questions later. When Emma was two months old, Alpha told Elias to adopt her from Havenbrook Home Orphanage. It was straightforward, no loose ends."

Aylin felt a wave of sickness. "So she was just... convenient. A way to avoid problems."

"That’s exactly what she was," Selina said quietly. "It wasn’t about digging up hidden evidence or keeping an eye on potential threats. It was just the easiest option for a criminal crew still figuring out how to clean up their mess."

She felt sick to her stomach. "This is... such a mess."

"It’s worse than a mess," Zayden said. "Alexander killed Emma’s parents... and raised their daughter, letting her believe he was her real father, all while looking for any evidence they might have left behind. And Emma has no clue."

Reyes got up and started pacing. "Does Emma know anything? Has she stumbled upon anything?"

"Not that we know of," Aylin said. "She seems totally normal. Just a college student studying computer science. She became friends with Ayla—"

"Hold on," Leo interrupted. "She’s friends with Ayla?"

"Yeah," Aylin clarified. "Emma and Ayla hit it off on the very first day of class. They’re at the same university, in the same batch, same major. They just happened to sit near each other."

Reyes frowned. "Wait, does Alexander even know who Ayla is? Does he realize the connection?"

Aylin shook her head. "Not that we know of. Alexander hasn’t recognized Ayla. As far as we can tell, Emma and Ayla becoming friends was a pure coincidence—same university, same batch, same major."

Aylin shook her head. "Not that we know of. Alexander hasn’t recognized Ayla. As far as we can tell, Emma and Ayla becoming friends was a pure coincidence. Same university, same class, same batch, same field of study."

Selina said, "This actually makes things riskier. If Alexander finds out that his adopted daughter is hanging out with Marcus Alston’s daughter, he’ll either get Emma away from her right away or use it to his advantage."

Leo muttered a curse. "So it’s a ticking time bomb. The second Alexander figures out who Ayla is—"

"Everything changes," Zayden added, looking serious. "We need to make sure he doesn’t catch on. Not yet."

Zayden stood up and walked over to the whiteboard, starting to jot down the connections. "Alright, let’s break down what we know."

He wrote fast:

- Alexander Kane = Elias King

- Did surgeries on Alpha

- Took out Emma’s parents (former Alpha team members who betrayed him)

- Adopted Emma when she was two months old, just for convenience (no relatives)

Selina looked at the board and frowned. "Wait a second. You keep bringing up Marcus Alston like I should know more about him besides being Aylin’s dad. What’s the deal here?"

The room went quiet.

Aylin took a deep breath and gripped the edge of her laptop. "Marcus Alston was my dad. But he wasn’t just a journalist like Ayla, and I thought our whole lives." Her voice shook a little. "We found out recently that he was a government operative. So was our mom, Sibel."

Selina’s eyebrows went up. "Government operatives? Both of them?"

"Yep," Aylin replied, her golden-brown eyes intense. "They were part of a team—five people total. My dad was a strategist and a top-notch hacker back in the day. My mom was the tactical expert."

Leo added quietly, "They kept their real jobs hidden from us. Aylin and Ayla grew up thinking their parents had normal careers."

Selina leaned forward, clearly interested now. "And Alexander? What’s his part in all this?"

"Alexander Kane, actually Elias King Kane, took over for someone on that team," Aylin explained. "There was a guy named Mehmet Demir who was sent on overseas missions. It was all a setup. Alpha had connections in the government and got Mehmet transferred out so Alexander could move in."

Aylin’s hands were tightly clenched. "My mom died fourteen years ago. For ages, they told us it was a car accident. A tragic accident." Her voice broke a bit. "But Ayla... Ayla saw it happen. She was there."

"Saw what?" Selina asked, though her face suggested she might already know.

"She saw Alexander kill our mom," Aylin said, her words coming out flat and emotionless, the only way she could say it without losing it. "Ayla was just a kid, hiding. She saw him do it. She saw his face."

The room went totally quiet.

"Wow," Selina said softly, her eyes wide in disbelief.

"For a long time, Ayla shut it out," Leo said. "It was because of trauma. Her mind buried the memory to keep her safe. She just started to remember his face, what went down."

Aylin kept going, her voice tougher now, with anger taking over the hurt. "And our dad..."