Raven's POV – Early Morning
The early morning light crept slowly through the blinds, stretching long shadows across the hardwood floors of Raven's apartment. She sat at the edge of her bed, her fingers loosely gripping a mug of lukewarm coffee she had forgotten to finish. The room was silent, save for the soft hum of the refrigerator and the distant sounds of the city waking up outside.
But inside, Raven's mind was anything but calm. She hadn't slept. Not even for a moment. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw Aurelio's face—the fierce look in his eyes, the unspoken words that hung between them in the café. He hadn't known. Not yet, at least. But she could feel it coming. The way he had looked at her, the way he asked questions that cut too close to the truth—he was getting closer, inch by agonizing inch, to discovering what she had hidden for so long.
She sighed and stood up, pacing the room, her thoughts racing. She wasn't sure why she was even in town. The investigation was the reason she had returned, yes, but this was not what she had imagined. She'd known it was going to be hard, but the moment she had seen Aurelio again, the floodgates of her past had opened, and now there was no closing them.
A sharp knock at the door broke her thoughts. She froze. She wasn't expecting anyone, not this early. Her heart skipped, and she instinctively checked the peephole. It was Isabella.
A sick feeling curled in her stomach. What was she doing here?
Raven opened the door, forcing a neutral expression onto her face, though she couldn't hide the unease in her eyes.
"Isabella," Raven said coolly, trying to mask the tension in her voice. "What's going on?"
Isabella stood there, her normally confident demeanor replaced by something unfamiliar. She looked… concerned. Worried. And that only made Raven's anxiety flare.
"I need to talk to you," Isabella said quietly, her gaze flickering past Raven into the apartment. "It's important."
Raven's pulse quickened, her stomach dropping. She stepped aside, wordlessly allowing Isabella to enter. The silence between them was heavy, filled with things neither of them dared to say out loud.
Once inside, Isabella closed the door behind her and turned to Raven. Her eyes were wide, her hands nervously wringing together.
"I just spoke to Aurelio," she said, her voice low, as though she were afraid of being overheard.
Raven froze. The name hit her like a slap to the face. She felt the ground beneath her feet shift.
"What do you mean you spoke to him?" Raven asked, her voice coming out rougher than she intended.
Isabella took a deep breath, her eyes flickering with something Raven couldn't quite read. "He knows, Raven," she said quietly. "He knows about Luna."
Raven's world tilted. The room seemed to shrink, the walls closing in on her. He knows. Her head buzzed with the words, but they didn't make sense. How could he know? She had kept everything so carefully hidden.
"No," Raven whispered, shaking her head. "How? He can't know."
Isabella's face tightened. "He does. I don't know how, but he's putting the pieces together. He's not an idiot, Raven. He's been asking questions about you, about Luna. And sooner or later, he'll figure it out. He's determined to know the truth."
The truth. Raven's breath caught in her throat. The weight of the words was too much to bear. She had spent six years hiding the truth from everyone—especially from Aurelio. And now, the dam was finally breaking.
"I… I can't do this," Raven whispered, her knees weakening. She stepped back toward the couch and sank down, the mug of coffee forgotten on the table beside her. "I don't know how to face him. I can't."
Isabella moved closer, her hand gently resting on Raven's shoulder. "You don't have a choice, Raven. You can't keep running from this forever. You have to tell him, for your sake and for Luna's."
Raven's hands trembled as she pressed them to her face. She had kept so much from Aurelio—so many lies, so many secrets. She had built her entire life around this lie. And now, it was all coming undone.
"I never wanted this for her," Raven whispered, her voice cracking. "I never wanted her to grow up like this. I wanted to protect her from all of it."
Isabella's eyes softened, a flicker of sympathy in them. "You did the best you could. But you can't keep her in the dark forever. You have to trust that Aurelio won't take her from you. He deserves to know."
"I'm not ready for this," Raven said, her voice distant. "I'm not ready for him to know."
Isabella crouched down in front of her, taking Raven's hands in hers. "You're stronger than you think. You're a mother. And you're doing the right thing by facing this now. But you can't wait too long. The more you wait, the harder it will be."
Raven closed her eyes, the weight of Isabella's words settling in. She knew she couldn't hide anymore. The truth was about to come crashing down on her. But how could she face Aurelio? How could she tell him the truth? The truth about Luna, about their daughter, and the terrible mistake that had led her to leave everything behind?
Before she could answer, her phone buzzed on the counter, its sharp sound cutting through the tension between them. Raven glanced at the screen, her breath catching when she saw who it was.
It was Aurelio.
A cold shiver ran down her spine.
"I… I need to answer this," Raven said, her voice tight. She stood and moved toward the phone, her heart hammering in her chest.
Isabella didn't leave. She only watched as Raven swiped to answer the call.
Raven took a deep breath before bringing the phone to her ear. "Aurelio?"
The voice that came through the line was gruff, controlled, but there was a note of something beneath the surface—something that sent a chill through her.
"Raven," Aurelio said, his tone low. "We need to talk."
Aurelio's POV – Same Morning
Aurelio sat at his desk, the pile of paperwork in front of him completely forgotten. His fingers drummed on the wooden surface, his thoughts consumed by Raven. His encounter with her in the café had left him unsettled. Every time he tried to focus, every time he tried to push the thoughts of her away, they returned with a vengeance. The way she had looked at him, the guarded expression she wore, and the painful ache in her eyes told him she was hiding something.
And that something—he was certain of it—was tied to Luna.
He'd never heard the name before, but it was now etched into his mind. Luna. The mysterious child who had appeared out of nowhere, with no explanation.
Aurelio couldn't shake the feeling that there was a connection between the two women—the one from his past and the one now in front of him. The suspicion gnawed at him, eating away at his concentration. He had never wanted to pry into Raven's life; after all, it had been years. But the closer he got, the more he realized there was a secret, a hidden truth that was waiting to be uncovered.
As if on cue, his phone rang, and he didn't have to look at the screen to know it was her.
He had to know.
"Raven," he said, his voice steady despite the storm brewing inside him. "We need to talk."
Raven's POV – Moments Later
The words hit her like a slap to the face. We need to talk. How could she possibly do this? How could she explain everything to him?
Her heart pounded in her chest as the reality of the situation settled in. There was no more running. No more hiding.
She had to face him.