Victor stood there—tall, composed, unreadable.
“Why are you here?” he asked.
His voice was calm. Too calm.
Lily looked up at him, rain dripping from her hair.
“I came to collect the debt you owe my mom.”
The words came out exactly as she remembered them.
Victor didn’t move.
But something inside him did.
“What’s your mother’s name?”
Lily swallowed.
“Emma Carter.”
The world seemed to pause.
Victor’s expression didn’t change—but his grip tightened slightly at his side.
Eight years ago…
A woman with steady hands had saved his life after a deal went wrong. She had hidden him, treated him, and refused his money.
Instead, she had said:
“One day, you’ll owe me something real.”
“And where is your mother now?” he asked quietly.
Lily’s fingers tightened around the teddy bear.
“She didn’t wake up,” she said.
Silence filled the room.
Heavy.
Final.
Victor nodded once.
“Come inside.”
The warmth of the house wrapped around her, but it didn’t feel safe yet.
Not really.
Not until she looked back at him and asked softly:
“Are you coming too?”
The question caught him off guard.
No one asked him things like that.
No one expected him to follow.
But this wasn’t business.
This was something else.
“…Yes,” he said.