Meanwhile, at Daffodil Academy, Leo was having a wonderful day—very different from his usual routine of keeping to himself and barely interacting with others.
Today felt special.
He had found his mother. He had helped her fall asleep. And waking up to see her beside him had filled him with a happiness he couldn't quite explain.
For the first time, he was actually excited to be at school.
"Leo, you seem really happy today. Is it your birthday?" Mia, one of his classmates, asked curiously.
"Yes, Leo, tell us! Is it your birthday?" John chimed in. "If it is, then why hasn't the school thrown a party for us?"
Leo blinked at them, clearly caught off guard by the sudden attention.
Daffodil Academy was one of the most prestigious schools in Country P, attended mostly by children from elite families.
But more importantly it was heavily funded by one family in particular.
The Emerson family.
"Birthday? Hah. Does he even have one?"
A sharp voice cut through the chatter, and everyone turned toward Nate—Leo's cousin.
He stood there with three boys behind him before walking closer, a mocking smirk on his face.
"I doubt he does," Nate continued. "Someone who doesn't even know his mother wouldn't know when he was born."
He laughed—and the boys with him followed suit.
Nate was two years older than Leo, bigger, stronger, and far more used to throwing his weight around.
The Emerson family was large, filled with extended relatives who pretended to get along. But beneath that surface, there was jealousy, rivalry, and quiet resentment—especially toward Xander, one of the elder Emerson's favored heirs.
And Leo, being his son, often became an easy target.
Leo looked at Nate with cold, unbothered eyes before standing up, intending to walk away.
But before he could take a step, Nate stretched his leg out.
Leo tripped.
"Ah—!"
He fell flat on the ground.
"HAHAHA! What a weakling," Nate sneered. "Can't even see what's right in front of him."
Leo groaned softly, pushing himself up as Nate and his friends continued laughing before walking away, satisfied.
This wasn't new.
Leo had always been the center of attention within the Emerson household—but not all of it was good. While some kept their distance, others, like Nate, took advantage of the fact that Leo never complained.
He never told anyone.
Not even his father.
"Here," John said, helping him sit up.
Mia knelt beside him, her brows furrowed with concern.
Leo glanced at the scratch on his palm, then gave them a small smile.
"It's okay. I'm not hurt that much."
But both of them could tell he was just putting on a brave face.
"Are you sure you don't want to tell the homeroom teacher?" Mia asked gently, even though she already knew the answer.
Because everyone knew how things worked here.
No one at school dared to cross the Emerson children. No matter how wealthy or influential the other families were, they all understood their limits.
After all, the majority of their family businesses were linked to Globe International, one of the largest companies both internationally and globally.
Leo smiled and shook his head as he got to his feet.
"It's okay. I'm fine."
Mia and John exchanged a concerned glance, clearly not convinced. But in the end, they didn't push him any further.
Quietly, they nodded and followed Leo as the three of them headed back toward the classroom.
***
Back in her room, Ivy stared at the phone Butler Rupert had handed her earlier.
At first glance, it seemed normal. But the more she examined it, the more she realized it wasn't new.
It was Ivy's phone. The same one she had used before… the same one that still held her pictures.
"I don't think he'd be this generous to just hand it back like that," Ivy muttered, narrowing her eyes.
Carefully, she began scanning through the device, checking for anything suspicious.
A tracker. Spyware. Anything.
But the more she checked, the more her frown deepened.
It was clean.
Completely clean.
"How is that even possible…?"
Xander had made it very clear—he didn't trust her. Keeping her close was his way of testing her.
So why give her access to something this personal?
Was he confident enough that she wouldn't run? Or… was he playing a deeper game?
Ivy exhaled softly, shaking her head.
"Whatever. No point overthinking it right now." Her grip on the phone tightened slightly. "If he's given it back, I might as well use it."
Even though fragments of memory still surfaced from time to time, Raven knew that wasn't enough. If she wanted to truly understand Ivy's life—her connections, her past, her relationships—this phone was the key.
Back in the organization, things had always been simple.
Gather information. Analyze. Execute. Everything had been precise. Controlled.
But now, inside Ivy's body, she had to be careful. One wrong move could expose her before she found the person who had betrayed her during her last mission.
Ivy steadied her thoughts and focused on the screen again, scrolling through photos, messages, contacts. Then— she paused. Her brows furrowed.
"Is he her lover?" she murmured, finding a photo of the same man taken from a different angle. But then her finger hovered as she zoomed in on a picture—one that didn't match anything in the scattered memories she had access to.
A man. Unfamiliar.
"Who is he…?" she whispered, her eyes flickering with curiosity as she stared at the screen.
Ivy had no idea who the man was. But the closeness in the picture—the way they stood together—made her wonder if he was someone important… someone she was supposed to remember.
Her grip on the phone tightened slightly.
Should I know him?
The question lingered as she continued staring, her mind already beginning to piece together possibilities.
Elsewhere, in another part of the city, a man sat in front of a glowing screen.
Lines of data flickered as the files disappeared one after another.
Traces—erased.
"Done," he muttered with a satisfied smirk. With a few final keystrokes, he shut the system down, filling the room with utter silence.
He stood up, stretching slightly, before heading toward the door as if nothing unusual had just taken place.
Stepping outside, he blended seamlessly back into his routine— as though he hadn't just wiped away every clue that could have led straight to Xander.