A full week had passed. Akira was still staying at the Tokyo Takahashi mansion. When Mrs. Takahashi had found Akira looking so broken and powerless in Osaka, she chose to keep her close instead of leaving her alone. Following her separation from Naea, the loneliness inside Akira had become a deep, silent abyss. She had become completely lifeless, yet a shred of humanity remained within her she did not want to further hurt the people who were caring for her during this difficult time.
However, there was a profound and complex secret behind Akira keeping Mrs. Takahashi at a distance and refusing even a normal touch. In the past, a night had come when the two of them had grown very close even physically close. Ever since that single night, a very special and deep place for Akira had formed in Mrs. Takahashi's heart. But for Akira? For Akira, that night was a massive mistake, an error she never wished to repeat. Drowned in her grief for Naea, Akira did not want to add to the weight of that past mistake, which is why she refused to let Mrs. Takahashi come near her.
Amidst this silent week, a new life stepped into this dark world. A daughter was born to Agent Halvard or Hiroto.
A New Blossom: Ayame
To the world, Hiroto was a ruthless operative, but looking at his newborn daughter, even his eyes welled with tears. Both Mrs. Takahashi and Akira went to the hospital to meet the baby. For the first time all week, a faint softness appeared on Akira's stone-like face when she looked at the tiny soul.
The baby was named Ayame a beautiful blossom blooming amidst this bloody and conspiratorial environment.
When Mrs. Takahashi took Ayame into her arms, a strange sense of peace and familiarity washed over her face. She showered the baby with immense love, completely unaware that the very blood running through her own veins was playing in her lap.
In that hospital corridor, where everyone was celebrating the new birth, a massive and terrifying secret stood like a looming shadow.
Agent Halvard or Hiroto was no ordinary man. He was Mrs. Takahashi's biological son! This was a truth that past eras and the dark corporate files of the Agency had buried away.
Hiroto had never worked for the Takahashi empire or their family business from the very beginning, he had been a dedicated secret agent, bound to follow the orders of his country and the Agency. However, Hiroto knew the complete truth that the powerful matriarch he was stationed around as an agent was his biological mother. On the other hand, Mrs. Takahashi was entirely oblivious to this secret. She had absolutely no idea that her long-lost son was so close to her.
Through the hospital's glass window, Hiroto watched his mother (Mrs. Takahashi) cradling his daughter (Ayame). The mark from Akira's punch still lingered on his jaw, but at this moment, his face held nothing but a deep, silent pain. He was forced to keep this secret buried within his chest, because if this truth ever came to light, it would set both the Takahashi empire and the Agency ablaze.
The fragile joy inside the hospital room shattered within hours. Little Ayame's condition suddenly deteriorated; her heart rate fluctuated wildly, and the doctors discovered a severe deficiency in her red blood cell count. She needed an immediate blood transfusion.
The pediatrician rushed into the corridor, looking tense. "The infant has an incredibly rare blood type: O-negative. We need a donor immediately. Our hospital blood bank is completely out of stock for this specific type."
Panic gripped the hallway. Hiroto stepped forward, his face pale, but his blood type was A-positive. Akira, standing silently in the shadows, was B-positive. One by one, the medical staff checked the files of everyone present, but unfortunately, no one matched. The clock was ticking, and the newborn's breaths were growing shallower.
Just then, Mrs. Takahashi stepped forward . "Draw my blood," she commanded, her voice steady and unyielding. "I am O-negative."
Without wasting a single second, the medical team hurried Mrs. Takahashi into the donor room. As the sterile needle pierced her vein, the dark crimson blood began to flow into the plastic bag a lifeline journeying from the elderly matriarch directly into the failing body of the newborn child.
Once the transfusion was successfully completed and Ayame's vitals stabilized, the attending nurse smiled warmly at Mrs. Takahashi while bandaging her arm.
"You should be proud, ma'am," the nurse said gently. "You just gave your granddaughter a completely new lease on life."
Mrs. Takahashi offered a faint, melancholy smile, shaking her head. "She isn't my granddaughter. She is the child of an Agency operative. But still... I don't know why, the moment I looked at her, I felt a strange pull. It felt as though an invisible, ancient bond exists between us."
The nurse chuckled softly, adjusting the IV stand. "Well, if you feel that strongly, you should just run a DNA test! It will clear up any doubts in a second."
The nurse meant it as a lighthearted joke, but the words hit Mrs. Takahashi like a physical blow. The room fell dead silent. A strange, suffocating suspicion a lingering doubt that had haunted the back of her mind for previous days regarding Hiroto's mysterious background suddenly flared to life. Her sharp, calculating mind began to connect dots she had previously ignored.
Without notifying Hiroto, Mrs. Takahashi looked at physician standing near the door. "Extract a sample from the child's swaddle. Run a full maternal lineage DNA test immediately. Keep it entirely off the hospital records."
Three hours later, inside the locked lounge of the hospital, Mrs. Takahashi held a crisp, white medical report in her trembling hands. Her eyes scanned down the technical jargon until they locked onto the final conclusion:
PROBABILITY OF MATERNAL KINSHIP: 99.99%
RELATIONSHIP: BIOLOGICAL GRANDMOTHER
Boom.
The paper slipped from her fingers, fluttering onto the glass table. The untouchable corporate queen of Tokyo felt her entire world tilt on its axis. The doubt was gone; the truth was blindingly clear. The secret agent who had bled for her, the man , was Hiroto her long-lost biological son. And the child sleeping in the incubator down the hall was her own flesh and blood.
While Mrs. Takahashi was reeling from the revelation of her life, Akira stood alone in the dim, rain-slicked balcony of the hospital's top floor. Her phone buzzed in her pocket. It was an encrypted line from Macau.
She picked it up, her voice deadened. "Speak."
Akira... we just intercepted a private civil registration filing from the Osaka high court," the informant whispered, his voice laced with dread. "It's about Naea. She has accepted a formal marriage proposal. She is scheduled to wed Prosecutor Daisuke very soon."
The phone felt heavy against Akira's ear. The rainy Tokyo skyline blurred before her eyes. Just when she thought she had hit absolute rock bottom, the universe had ripped away the last shred of illusion she was clinging to.