The greenhouse stood at the farthest edge of the estate.
Its towering glass walls shimmered beneath the moonlight, hiding rows of rare medicinal plants that Victor had spent years cultivating. The air inside carried the scent of damp earth and herbs, calming to anyone who entered.
To Jane…
It felt like another cage.
She stopped at the entrance, tightening her grip on the small lantern in her hand.
Victor’s words echoed in her mind.
“Invite him tomorrow night. Tell no one.”
She knew it wasn’t a request.
It was an order.
Hawk arrived precisely at midnight.
He stepped through the greenhouse doors, his eyes scanning every corner before settling on Jane.
“You came.”
Jane managed a faint smile.
“I wasn’t sure you would.”
Hawk looked around the greenhouse, lingering on the rows of carefully labeled plants.
“So this is where Victor grows his miracle medicine.”
Jane nodded.
“Most of these plants don’t exist anywhere else.”
She didn’t notice Hawk quietly studying the layout.
There were too many labels.
Too many ledgers.
Too many records left in plain sight.
Almost as if someone wanted them to be found.
His thoughts darkened.
A trap.
Victor wasn’t showing him the greenhouse.
Victor wanted someone else to know Hawk had been here.
Jane walked deeper between the rows of herbs.
“I used to come here whenever I wanted to think.”
She gently brushed her fingers over the leaves.
“Out here… I could almost pretend I wasn’t living inside a prison.”
Hawk watched her.
For the first time, he wasn’t seeing Victor’s wife.
He was seeing a woman who had spent years pretending she was free.
“You’ve been planning to leave.”
Jane froze.
She slowly looked back.
“…How did you know?”
“You don’t look at the gates anymore.”
She frowned.
“You look beyond them.”
Silence settled between them.
“I’ve tried.”
Jane’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“So many times.”
“I packed my things once.”
“I even reached the front gate.”
“What happened?”
She looked away.
“I couldn’t.”
“Not because of the guards.”
She forced a small, painful laugh.
“I didn’t know who I was without this place.”
Hawk felt something inside him shift.
He had entered this mansion for revenge.
He never expected to meet someone whose prison had no walls.
“You deserve a choice,” he said quietly.
Jane looked into his eyes.
No manipulation.
No command.
No demand.
Just a simple truth.
Tears welled in her eyes before she could stop them.
No one had ever said those words to her.
Not once.
Without thinking, she stepped closer.
“So do you.”
The distance between them disappeared.
For a brief moment, neither of them remembered Victor.
Or revenge.
Or the lies that surrounded them.
Jane rested her forehead against Hawk’s.
The silence between them spoke louder than any confession.
Hawk closed his eyes.
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
She wasn’t supposed to matter.
Yet somehow…
She did.
He gently reached for her hand.
She didn’t pull away.
High above the greenhouse…
A tiny indicator light blinked once.
Then went dark.
Hawk glanced toward the ceiling.
His instincts screamed.
Something wasn’t right.
He subtly shifted his position, turning so his back partially blocked Jane from the central walkway.
Jane noticed.
“What is it?”
Hawk lowered his voice.
“Victor never builds anything without a reason.”
His gaze drifted over the beams supporting the glass roof.
“No cameras…”
“No obvious surveillance…”
Which meant the trap wasn’t as simple as watching them.
It was something else.
Something waiting.
Far inside the mansion…
Victor stood before a wall-sized map of the estate.
One of his men entered.
“Sir.”
“They’re in the greenhouse.”
Victor didn’t look up.
“I know.”
“They’ve been there for twenty-three minutes.”
The guard hesitated.
“They appear… close.”
Victor finally turned.
For the briefest moment, something flickered in his eyes.
Not anger.
Not jealousy.
Pain.
He masked it almost instantly.
“Continue observing the perimeter.”
“Do not interfere.”
The guard frowned.
“You don’t want us to stop them?”
Victor walked toward the window overlooking the distant glow of the greenhouse.
“If I chain a bird to its cage…”
He spoke softly.
“…it will never choose to stay.”
His reflection stared back at him.
“But if I open the cage…”
He clenched his hand behind his back.
“…I’ll finally learn where its heart truly belongs.”
Outside, the wind rattled the glass panels of the greenhouse.
Neither Jane nor Hawk noticed the faint red laser that briefly swept across the entrance before disappearing.
Someone else…
Someone Victor had not invited…
Was watching them too.
And this time, the game had gained another player.