Then he started walking again.

Anya hesitated for half a second before quickly following him, staying close again without needing to be told. The hallway ahead opened into a larger section of the mansion, the energy shifting slightly as they moved deeper inside. Voices became more structured, more focused. This wasn’t the casual gathering area anymore. This was controlled space.

Liam pushed open the door at the end of the corridor without slowing down.

The moment it opened, the atmosphere changed again.

Inside the room was a large setup with multiple screens, maps, and technical equipment spread across a wide table. A woman stood in front of one of the monitors with her back turned, fingers moving quickly as she worked. She had the posture of someone fully locked into her task, focused to the point where everything else didn’t matter.

The door opened.

She turned immediately.

And the moment she saw Liam her entire expression changed.

The seriousness dropped instantly and something more alive came through her face.

She stood up quickly.

"I have been waiting for you," she said as she moved toward him with visible relief and energy in her voice.

But then she saw his hand.

Her expression shifted immediately.

The excitement didn’t disappear but it sharpened into concern instead.

She stepped closer and grabbed his injured hand gently, inspecting it with a trained eye that immediately picked up on how serious it was.

"That’s not a normal injury," she said quietly, more to herself than anyone else. "It takes a lot of force to get through your durability like this... whoever did this must have meant to do more than just injure you."

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she studied it further.

"What happened," she asked more directly now as her grip stayed careful around his hand.

Liam let out a small breath and gave a slight smile like it wasn’t as serious as it looked.

"Tatiana," he said.

The name alone explained part of it.

The woman paused slightly, processing it.

Then her brows furrowed.

"The girl you went with?" she asked.

Her tone shifted instantly.

Sharper now.

"Where is she?"

The temperature in her voice dropped noticeably as she looked past him toward the door like she expected someone else to be hiding behind it.

Liam didn’t answer immediately.

Instead he reached out and gently pulled her closer by the wrist, not forceful but enough to close the distance between them. The movement caught her slightly off guard but she didn’t resist.

And then he leaned in.

And kissed her.

Not long.

Not dramatic.

Just enough to interrupt everything in the room.

When he pulled back slightly he spoke quietly against her lips.

"It was an accident."

Lana pulled away slightly after Liam kissed her and narrowed her eyes at him for another second like she was still deciding whether to stay annoyed or let it go. In the end she just sighed softly and shook her head.

"Stay put," she told him.

Then she turned and walked out of the room before either Liam or Anya could say anything else.

The door closed behind her.

For a brief moment the room became quiet again except for the low hum of the computers and equipment around them. Screens flickered softly across the walls casting moving lights over the room. Anya stood awkwardly near the door, unsure what she was supposed to do now.

Liam sat casually near the desk with his injured hand resting loosely against his leg. His posture looked relaxed but Anya noticed the small stiffness in his fingers every now and then. Even now he was still clearly managing pain.

She glanced at him quietly.

Then looked away again.

Honestly, she still did not fully understand him.

One moment he was brutally violent, killing armed men in seconds without even blinking. The next moment he was calm enough to comfort someone while they cried against his chest.

Nothing about him fit together normally.

The door opened again.

Lana came back inside carrying a white first aid kit in one hand. She walked straight toward Liam without wasting time, setting the box down on the table near him.

"Sit properly," she said.

Liam obeyed without argument this time, pulling a chair slightly backward before sitting down fully.

Anya stepped forward almost immediately.

"I’m a doctor," she said softly. "I can help dress the wound."

Only then did Lana properly turn her attention toward her.

Before now she had barely focused on the woman standing beside Liam. Her attention had been entirely on him and his injured hand. But now that things had slowed slightly, she finally had time to actually look at her.

And when she did, Lana’s brows lifted softly.

She was beautiful.

Very beautiful.

Not in a loud flashy way but in a naturally dangerous kind of way that immediately stood out. Her body was absurdly curvy but her face somehow matched it perfectly. Most women who looked good only stood out in certain ways but this woman looked complete. Balanced.

It was honestly rare seeing someone who could stand on the same level as her visually.

Lana studied her for another second before speaking calmly.

"Who are you?"

The tone surprised Anya immediately.

There was no hostility.

No possessiveness.

No sharpness.

Just curiosity.

Honestly she had expected the opposite. She expected this woman to feel threatened or uncomfortable seeing another attractive woman beside Liam.

Instead she was just asking politely.

Anya blinked once before answering.

"I-I am just a nobody he saved."

Lana looked at her quietly for a moment.

Then she nodded.

"You said you’re a doctor right?"

Anya nodded quickly.

"Yes."

Without hesitation Lana handed her the first aid kit.

"Then help him."

Anya took the kit carefully before moving beside Liam. She opened it quickly, pulling out bandages, antiseptic, gloves and a few small medical tools. The moment she reached for his hand again though, her expression shifted. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

She frowned.

Then looked closer.

Her fingers gently lifted his hand upward as disbelief slowly crossed her face.

"...What?"

Lana noticed immediately.

"What is it?"

Anya looked between them both before speaking slowly.

"Thirty minutes ago..." she muttered quietly, "I thought his fingers would need amputation."

Her eyes stayed fixed on Liam’s hand.

"But now..."

The swelling had reduced drastically. The skin no longer looked dull and lifeless like before. Even the damaged tissue appeared to be repairing itself at visible speed now.

It was impossible.

Completely impossible.

Anya carefully touched around the injury again and her confusion only deepened.

"He’s healing."

Liam simply gave her a small smile.

Like it was nothing unusual.

That somehow made it even stranger.

Anya stared at him for another second before continuing her treatment carefully. Even if the healing was happening naturally, the wound still needed support. She cleaned around the fingers gently before preparing fresh wraps.

Meanwhile behind Liam, Lana suddenly tapped his shoulder lightly.

"You won’t believe what I found."

Liam glanced upward.

"Why?"

Instead of answering directly, Lana grabbed the back of his chair and rotated it toward the computer desk while Anya still held his hand trying to wrap the fingers properly.

"Hey wait," Anya muttered softly as she adjusted herself awkwardly beside him, still focused on the bandaging.

Lana ignored it completely.

The chair stopped directly in front of the main monitor.

Lana stood behind Liam now, one hand resting lightly on the back of his chair while the other reached forward toward the keyboard. As she leaned over slightly, her body pressed faintly against the back of his shoulder without her paying attention to it.

She tapped a few keys.

The screen changed immediately.

An old black and white image appeared.

The quality was rough from age but still clear enough to make out two men standing beside strange scientific equipment. They wore old fashioned clothing from another era entirely. One of them stood with his hands behind his back while the other sat beside a table filled with papers and glass instruments.

Liam narrowed his eyes slightly.

The image looked ancient.

Then Lana pointed toward the man standing on the right side.

"This picture was taken in 1829," she said quietly.

Liam kept staring at the screen.

Then she continued.

"And that man on the right..."

Her finger tapped the screen lightly.

"...is Cain."

For a second Liam genuinely looked at her like she had lost her mind.

Then he let out a small laugh of disbelief.

"Babe," he said calmly, "I fought Cain yesterday."

Lana smiled slightly.

"I know."

That answer only made him look at her harder.

She leaned closer again and lowered her voice slightly.

"That man..." she said while pointing at the screen again, "is over two hundred and fifty years old."

Silence filled the room instantly.

Even Anya stopped wrapping the bandage properly for a second.

Liam’s eyes slowly shifted back toward the photograph.

The old image stared back at him silently.