Sera's POV
"Get up. We're leaving."
Phoenix's voice cuts through my sleep at 2 AM. I jolt awake, heart hammering, still trapped in nightmares of Ezra pointing that gun at my face. But when I blink at the figure in my doorway, it's not a dream.
"Are you insane?" I hiss. "We almost died tonight!"
"Exactly why we need to move." Phoenix tosses clothes at me—dark jeans, a black hoodie. "Ghost sent a message. He has information about Luna's real location. But we have to go now, or the trail goes cold."
My blood turns to ice. "Ghost betrayed us. He works for the families—"
"No, he doesn't." Phoenix's green eyes are sharp, focused in a way I've never seen. The chaos is gone, replaced by deadly certainty. "That whole factory thing was a setup to test us. Ghost needed to know if we'd actually fight for you, or if we'd fold under pressure."
"Test us?" Rage floods through me. "Luna could be dead because of his test!"
"Luna's alive. Ghost has been tracking her the whole time." Phoenix moves closer, his voice urgent. "But there's something bigger happening. Something about your mom's death that connects to the families. Ghost says the underground fighting ring tonight—there's someone there who knows the truth."
I should say no. I should wake Dante and the others. I should do anything except trust Phoenix after everything that just happened.
But something in his face stops me. He's scared. Actually, genuinely terrified. And Phoenix doesn't get scared.
"What aren't you telling me?" I demand.
"Everything," he admits. "That's why we need Ghost. Please, Sera. Trust me one more time."
I think about Ezra's gun. His father's ultimatum. The way everything keeps spiraling darker and deeper.
Then I think about my mom. About Luna. About all the secrets everyone keeps burying.
I grab the clothes. "If this is another trap—"
"Then you can kill me yourself." Phoenix's smile is sharp and sad. "I'll even hand you the knife."
Ten minutes later, we're in Phoenix's car, speeding through empty streets toward the city's industrial district. My phone buzzes constantly—Dante, Killian, Ezra, all calling. I silence it.
"They're going to murder you when they find out you took me," I say.
"They're going to have to get in line." Phoenix's hands grip the steering wheel tight. "After tonight, a lot of people are going to want me dead."
"What does that mean?"
He doesn't answer. Just drives faster.
The underground fighting ring isn't what I expected. I thought it would be some dingy basement. Instead, it's a massive warehouse converted into something that looks almost professional—if professional included blood sports and illegal gambling.
Music pounds so loud I feel it in my chest. The crowd is thick, dangerous-looking people in expensive clothes mixing with street fighters covered in tattoos. Money changes hands everywhere. In the center, a chain-link cage holds two fighters beating each other bloody while hundreds of people scream and bet.
"Stay close," Phoenix says, his hand finding mine. "This place eats nice girls for breakfast."
"Good thing I'm not nice anymore," I shoot back.
His laugh is genuine. "No. You're something way more dangerous."
We push through the crowd. People recognize Phoenix—some nod respect, others glare with open hatred. He ignores them all, pulling me toward a door marked "Private."
The guard blocking it is massive, but Phoenix just says, "Ghost is expecting us," and somehow that's enough.
Behind the door, stairs lead down to a basement level. The noise from above muffles into a dull roar. Down here, the lighting is dim red, and the air smells like smoke and secrets.
Ghost waits in a room filled with computer monitors showing feeds from all over the city. He's exactly like Ezra described—sharp-eyed, dangerous, and currently looking at me like I'm a bomb about to explode.
"She shouldn't be here," Ghost says to Phoenix.
"She has every right to be here," Phoenix counters. "This is about her mother."
My heart stops. "What about my mother?"
Ghost exchanges a look with Phoenix, then sighs. "Your mom didn't die in a car accident. That was the cover story. She was murdered because she found out something about the Five Families. Something big enough to bring them all down."
The room spins. I grab the edge of a desk for support. "My father said—"
"Your father lied. He's been lying for eight years." Ghost pulls up files on his screen. "Your mom was investigating the families for the FBI. She was their inside source. And when they found out..." He trails off meaningfully.
"They killed her." The words come out flat, emotionless, because if I let myself feel this, I'll shatter. "And my father knew."
"Your father helped," Phoenix says quietly. "That's what the deal was really about. He gave them your mom, and in exchange, they made him rich."
I can't breathe. Can't think. Everything I knew about my life is a lie stacked on more lies.
"Where's Luna?" I force out. "You said you know where she is."
"I do." Ghost types rapidly, and a new screen appears showing surveillance footage. "She's being held at the Moretti estate. Dante's house. His father has her in the east wing."
My stomach drops. "Dante's father?"
"Charles Moretti is the head of the Five Families," Ghost explains. "He's been the one orchestrating everything—your mom's death, your father's deal, even the torture at school. All of it leads back to him."
Phoenix's hand tightens on mine. "There's more."
"More?" I laugh hysterically. "What more could there possibly be?"
Ghost pulls up a photo. It shows my mom with a man I don't recognize. They're smiling, holding hands. She looks happy. Genuinely happy in a way I never saw with my father.
"Your mom was leaving your dad," Ghost says. "She was in love with someone else. Someone who promised to protect both of you."
He zooms in on the man's face.
My breath stops.
Because I recognize him now. Older in the photo, but unmistakable.
The man in the photo with my mom—the man she loved—is Charles Blackwell.
Ezra's father.
"That's impossible," I whisper.
"Your mom was going to run away with Charles Blackwell," Ghost continues. "But then she found out about the families' illegal operations. She couldn't ignore it. So she went to the FBI. Charles felt betrayed. He's the one who gave the order to kill her."
The room tilts. Phoenix catches me as my legs give out.
"Ezra doesn't know," Phoenix says quickly. "None of the guys know. Their fathers have kept this buried for years."
"Why are you telling me this?" I look between them. "Why now?"
"Because Luna found out," Ghost says grimly. "She discovered the connection between your mom and the Blackwell family. That's why they took her. She knows too much. And they're going to kill her in—" he checks his watch, "—three hours. At dawn."
"We have to tell Dante and the others—"
"No." Phoenix's voice is sharp. "If we tell them, they'll go straight to their fathers. And their fathers will move Luna somewhere we'll never find her. This has to be us. Just us."
"That's suicide," I protest.
"Maybe," Ghost agrees. "But it's the only way. I can get you inside the Moretti estate. Phoenix knows the layout. You two can get to Luna while Dante and the others are still asleep."
"And then what?"
Ghost's smile is cold. "Then you decide what to do with the truth. Tell the guys and watch them choose between you and their families. Or keep it secret and let them stay in the dark forever."
My mind races. If I tell Dante that his father helped kill my mother—that Ezra's father was her lover—it'll destroy everything. They'll never trust their families again. They'll never be the same.
But if I don't tell them, I'm lying. Keeping secrets. Becoming just like everyone who's lied to me.
"We need to move," Phoenix urges. "Dawn is coming."
I look at Ghost's screens showing Luna tied up in that room. Then at Phoenix, who risked everything to bring me here.
"Let's go save her," I say.
But as we turn to leave, Ghost's phone buzzes. He checks it and goes pale.
"What?" Phoenix demands.
Ghost looks at me, and I see actual fear in his eyes. "There's a new player in town. Someone arrived tonight specifically looking for you, Sera. Someone claiming to be your mother's sister—your aunt that you never knew existed. And she's currently at Blackthorn Academy demanding to see you."
My entire world tilts.
I don't have an aunt. My mom was an only child.
Wasn't she?
Ghost turns his screen around, showing me security footage from the school's front gate.
The woman standing there, arguing with security, has my mother's face.
Exactly my mother's face.
Like looking at a ghost.
"That's impossible," I breathe. "My mom is dead."
"Maybe," Ghost says slowly. "Or maybe that's what everyone wanted you to believe."