The morning after the sabotage shoot, Lina woke to silence—and a notification.
> [System Alert: Anonymous message received.]
Content embedded with encrypted metadata. Display?
She hesitated. Then whispered, "Show me."
A file opened.
It was a photo.
Two girls standing in the rain. One with her head turned away. The other, Lina—fifteen years old, soaked and shivering.
Below it: "Forgotten me already, Vale?"
Her stomach turned to stone.
> Mira.
They had seen each other again recently, yes—but this photo was a ghost. A memory she'd buried so deep it felt like another life.
> [Threat Identifier Matched: Mira Han – Grade C Risk]
Tracking options: [Passive] [Intercept] [Ignore]
Lina selected: Passive.
She didn't want a war. Not yet.
But she needed to know where the fire was coming from.
---
That afternoon, Kael texted her:
> Kael: "I'll pick you up. We're having dinner with someone important."
> Lina: "Should I be scared?"
> Kael: "You've faced sabotage, scandal, and Alec Wei. You'll be fine."
When he arrived, he said nothing about her pale face, the tight way she held her clutch.
But when she stepped into the car, he handed her a bracelet. Simple, black, elegant.
"It's a tracker," he said softly. "For me. Not anyone else."
She blinked. "That sounds romantic in a stalker way."
"I prefer 'protective with flair.'"
"…I'll allow it."
---
Dinner was at a quiet estate on the edge of the city.
There, waiting on a wide veranda, was an elegant older woman with steel-gray hair, sharp eyes, and a smile that could melt mountains—or freeze them.
"Grandmother," Kael said with a rare warmth. "This is Lina."
She didn't smile right away.
She just studied Lina, eyes narrowing, calculating.
Then: "Pretty. Wounded. Determined. I see what drew you to her."
Lina blinked. "Ma'am, I—"
"Don't 'ma'am' me. Sit. Eat. If you survive this meal, you can survive Kael."
Lina almost laughed. Almost.
---
Over roast duck and jasmine rice, the questions came.
"Do you lie well?"
"No."
"Can you cook?"
"Not unless the kitchen is fireproof."
"Have you ever been in love?"
Silence.
Then: "No. Not really."
The woman nodded. "Good. Love is only useful when you have something worth losing."
Lina didn't know whether to feel insulted or… seen.
Kael watched the entire exchange with faint amusement, only cutting in when his grandmother asked about children.
"She's twenty, grandmother."
"Then she's late," the old woman sniffed.
---
When they finally left, Lina let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.
"She's terrifying," she said.
"She likes you."
"That's… concerning."
Kael glanced at her. "You didn't flinch. She respects that."
"Is that why you brought me? A test?"
"No," he said quietly. "I wanted her to see what strength really looks like."
Lina looked away, eyes stinging.
And didn't say thank you.
She didn't have to.
---
That night, the System pinged again.
> [New Mission: Confront the Ghost]
Objective: Prepare for contact with Mira Han
Time Limit: 5 Days
Failure Penalty: Emotional Regression (-2 Affinity with Anchor)
Reward: Enhanced Mental Fortitude + Memory Unlock (Phase 2)
She stared at the screen in silence.
"System," she whispered, "what if I don't want to remember?"
> [Sometimes survival isn't about forgetting. It's about seeing the whole picture—and choosing anyway.]
Lina Vale closed her eyes.
And for the first time since her betrayal…
She let herself remember.