The note felt heavier than paper.
Too slow, Ayla.
Those three words stayed in her mind even after they had left the ballroom.
The city lights blurred past the car window as Zayn drove in silence.
For once, even he had no immediate answer.
Ayla sat beside him, the folded note clenched tightly in her hand.
"He was there," she said quietly.
Zayn's grip on the steering wheel tightened.
"Yes."
Ayla turned toward him.
"Not just nearby."
Her voice hardened.
"Inside the ballroom."
Zayn's expression darkened.
"Which means someone informed him."
The realization hit both of them at once.
There was a leak.
Not in the city.
Inside Zayn's circle.
The thought made Ayla's stomach twist.
If Lucian knew about the gala plan, then someone close to them had betrayed them.
Someone who knew where they were.
What they were doing.
And when.
By the time they reached the penthouse, the silence had become suffocating.
Zayn walked straight to his office.
Ayla followed.
He pulled out the list of names from the table.
"There are only four people who knew about tonight."
Ayla looked at the list.
Zayn
Ayla
Marco
Elena
Ayla frowned.
"Who are Marco and Elena?"
"People I trust."
He said it quickly.
Too quickly.
Ayla looked at him carefully.
"Trusted people can still betray."
Zayn's jaw tightened.
Before he could reply, footsteps echoed from the hallway.
A tall man entered the room.
Dark hair.
Sharp features.
Black shirt.
His eyes immediately landed on Ayla.
"So she's the famous wife."
Ayla narrowed her eyes.
"You must be Marco."
He gave a faint smile.
"And you must be the reason everything is getting complicated."
Zayn's expression turned cold.
"Enough."
Marco raised his hands slightly.
"Relax. I came because your call sounded urgent."
Zayn threw the note onto the desk.
Lucian knew about the gala.
Marco's expression changed.
"You think there's a leak?"
Ayla stepped forward.
"There is a leak."
Marco looked at her.
For a second, something unreadable passed through his expression.
Then he looked back at Zayn.
"It wasn't me."
The speed of his answer made Ayla suspicious.
"No one accused you yet," she said sharply.
The room went silent.
Marco looked at her for a long moment.
Then smiled.
"She's smarter than I expected."
Ayla didn't trust that smile.
Not even a little.
Another voice came from the doorway.
"Then maybe we should stop wasting time."
A woman stepped in.
Tall.
Elegant.
Dangerously calm.
Elena.
Her gaze moved directly to Ayla.
"So this is the girl Lucian wants."
Ayla stiffened.
The wording hit wrong.
Not wanted.
Not targeted.
Wanted.
Zayn noticed it too.
"What exactly do you mean by that?"
he asked coldly.
Elena crossed her arms.
"I mean Lucian has been searching for her for years."
Ayla's heart skipped.
"For years?"
Zayn looked at Elena.
"Why didn't you tell me this before?"
Elena's expression remained calm.
"Because I only confirmed it today."
Marco frowned.
"Confirmed what?"
Elena's eyes stayed on Ayla.
"That her father was not protecting just files."
The room felt colder.
"He was protecting her identity."
Ayla's breath caught.
"My identity?"
Elena took a slow step forward.
"Lucian doesn't just want the data."
A pause.
"He wants the heir."
Silence.
Ayla stared at her.
"What are you talking about?"
Elena looked at Zayn.
"You should tell her."
Zayn's expression became unreadable.
Ayla turned toward him.
"Tell me what?"
For the first time in a long while, Zayn hesitated.
Then he said it.
"Lucian Moretti was once your father's closest partner."
Ayla froze.
"No."
Zayn continued.
"The empire your father helped build...
it was Lucian's."
Her mind raced.
"Then why would he kill him?"
Marco answered this time.
"Because your father disappeared with something priceless."
Ayla's hand instinctively moved to the pendant.
The key.
But Elena shook her head.
"Not just the key."
Her voice lowered.
"You."
Ayla felt the floor shift beneath her.
None of this made sense.
Before anyone could say another word-
A loud crash echoed from the balcony.
Glass shattered.
Everyone turned.
A masked man landed inside the penthouse.
Then another.
Attackers.
Ayla's pulse spiked.
"They found us."
Zayn moved instantly.
"Stay behind me!"
The fight exploded without warning.
Marco rushed forward, taking down the first attacker.
Elena moved with surprising speed, disarming another.
Ayla stepped back, but her eyes caught something.
One of the attackers was heading straight for the office desk.
For the files.
Without thinking, she grabbed the nearest metal lamp and swung it hard.
The attacker stumbled sideways.
Zayn looked at her for a brief second.
Shock.
Then approval.
But in the middle of the chaos-
Ayla saw it.
Marco.
He wasn't fighting the attackers.
He was slipping something from the desk into his coat.
The flash drive.
Her eyes widened.
"Zayn!"
Marco froze.
For one second, the entire room stopped.
Zayn turned slowly.
His eyes locked on Marco.
Cold.
Dangerous.
Marco gave a slow smile.
"I was wondering when she'd notice."
Ayla's heart pounded.
It was him.
The leak.
The betrayal.
Marco stepped back toward the shattered balcony doors.
"Lucian says hello."
Then he jumped into the darkness below.
Silence followed.
Only broken glass and heavy breathing remained.
Ayla stared at the empty balcony.
"He was right beside us all along."
Zayn's eyes darkened.
"No."
His voice was colder than ice.
"He was inside my house."