Silence filled the underground chamber.
No one lowered their guard.
No one spoke.
Victoria stared at the silver pocket watch in Volkov's hand, unable to tear her eyes away from the photograph of her mother.
Finally, she found her voice.
"You expect me to believe you loved her?"
Volkov looked down at the watch before carefully closing it.
"I don't expect you to believe anything."
"I'm simply telling you the truth."
Victoria's jaw tightened.
"The truth?"
"You murdered my father."
"You stole my brother."
"You destroyed my family."
"And now you speak about love?"
Emily stepped closer to Victoria, quietly resting a reassuring hand on her back.
Volkov noticed.
"You always stand beside her."
Emily met his gaze.
"I always will."
For a brief moment, something flickered in Volkov's eyes.
Not anger.
Regret.
"I once believed someone would say those words to me."
Father Michael slowly stepped forward.
"Adrian..."
Volkov looked at the old priest.
"I begged you to surrender all those years ago."
"You still remember?"
"I remember every soul I couldn't save."
Volkov sighed.
"You never understood."
"No," Father Michael replied gently.
"I understood that revenge was consuming you."
Gabriel frowned.
"Tell us everything."
Volkov remained silent for several seconds.
Then he began.
"When we were young, Alessandro and I dreamed of building an empire."
"Not one built on fear..."
"But one powerful enough that no one could ever threaten the people we loved."
He looked at Victoria.
"Then your mother entered our lives."
His voice softened.
"We both loved her."
Victoria's breathing became uneven.
"She chose my father."
Volkov nodded.
"She did."
"And I accepted it."
Emily watched him carefully.
"Then what changed?"
Volkov's expression darkened.
"Power."
He slowly walked toward the large window overlooking the abandoned tunnels.
"There were others."
"Men with more money."
"More weapons."
"They wanted Alessandro to join them."
"He refused."
"So they came for his family."
Victoria felt her heart pounding.
"My mother..."
Volkov closed his eyes.
"I wasn't there in time."
The chamber fell silent.
"When I arrived..."
"The house was burning."
"I tried to save her."
"But I failed."
Victoria whispered,
"You're lying."
"I wish I were."
Father Michael lowered his head.
"It's true."
Every eye turned toward him.
"I never told you because your father wanted you to remember your mother as someone who died protecting her family."
Victoria's voice trembled.
"Who killed her?"
Father Michael answered quietly.
"A man called Viktor Sokolov."
"The leader of the organization that existed before Volkov took control."
Gabriel looked stunned.
"So Volkov didn't order it?"
Father Michael shook his head.
"No."
"He hunted Sokolov for years."
Emily slowly looked at Volkov.
"So everything after that..."
"...was revenge."
Volkov didn't deny it.
"I destroyed Sokolov."
"And then I became exactly what I hated."
A long silence settled over the room.
Victoria felt as if everything she believed had been turned upside down.
"You still stole Gabriel."
Volkov nodded once.
"Yes."
"I thought I could protect him."
"I thought I could shape him into someone strong enough to survive."
Gabriel stepped forward.
"You stole my childhood."
Volkov looked at him with genuine sorrow.
"There isn't a day I haven't regretted it."
Before anyone could speak again, an alarm suddenly echoed through Eclipse.
A computer voice announced:
Security breach detected.
Self-destruct protocol activated.
Walker looked around.
"I didn't activate anything."
Luca checked one of the monitors.
"It's automatic."
"The damage from the train crash must have triggered it."
Emily looked at the countdown flashing across the central screen.
15:00
The underground complex began to tremble.
Dust fell from the ceiling.
Volkov slowly looked around the room.
"It seems..."
"...none of us are leaving unless we work together."
Victoria met his eyes.
For the first time...
The line between enemy and ally had become more complicated than ever.
But one thing remained certain.
They had only fifteen minutes to escape before Eclipse buried every secret forever.