The car ride was silent at first.
Elias kept glancing at Aria through the rear-view mirror, as if afraid she would disappear between one heartbeat and the next. His knuckles tightened around the steering wheel every time she shifted or blinked. He had cried so much in the office that part of his composure had simply broken, and now he hovered anxiously, like someone guarding the last piece of their family.
Aria watched the passing city lights, her small fingers pressed softly to the cold glass of the window.Eleven years.She had slept through the world changing.Through her brothers suffering.Through the rise of enemies and the betrayal of the so-called Moonlight.
Everything felt wrong, like someone had picked up her life and shaken it until all the pieces fell out of place.
She finally spoke."Elias…"
He jolted, glancing back quickly. "Yes? Are you hurt? Are you dizzy? Do you want water?"
Aria sighed. "I'm not going to vanish. Stop staring at me like that."
"I'm not staring," Elias lied, staring even harder.
Her lips twitched.He hadn't changed.He was still the overprotective eldest brother who once carried her on his back when she scraped her knee.
But now he was older.Sharpened by time.Haunted by losses she had only seen in visions.
She sat up properly."I want to go home," she said softly."And I want to see the others. Leon. Rayne."
Elias' grip tightened.
The atmosphere in the car immediately shifted.
Aria felt it.A tension deep enough to cut.
She leaned forward. "Elias? Take me to them. I need to see them."
Elias breathed in slowly, like he was steadying himself.His voice, when it came, was deep and controlled.
"You can't meet all of them tonight."
Aria frowned. "Why not? Did something happen—"
"No," he interrupted quickly. "They're alive. Leon's at his apartment. Rayne…" His jaw clenched. "Rayne comes home late."
"Then let's go," Aria insisted. "Take me to them."
Elias shook his head, eyes still forward.
"One of them isn't available right now."
Aria stiffened.Her visions flashed in her mind—Leon in handcuffs, Rayne dying on a rooftop.Her pulse quickened.
"Tell me," she demanded. "Where is he?"
Elias exhaled, long and tired.
"Rayne isn't home," he said. "He's competing in a race tonight."
"A race?" Aria blinked. "Like… running?"
Elias almost choked. "No. Cars. Illegal street racing, Aria."
Her mouth dropped open. "HE WHAT?!"
Elias massaged his forehead. "I told him not to go. But Rayne is… Rayne." He sighed deeply. "Rebellious. Reckless. Impossible to control. And extremely fast behind the wheel."
Aria stared, stunned.
Her sweet little Rayne—the boy who used to chase butterflies barefoot—now raced illegally on midnight roads?
"What about Leon?" she asked.
Elias smiled faintly. "Leon is… normal. He works late. Complains even later. Eats more than he should. He'll be home soon."
Aria felt relief soften her shoulders.
Two brothers alive.One dangerously busy, but alive.
She nodded firmly. "Good. After we go home, we're going to pick them up one by one."
"You're very bossy for someone who just resurrected," Elias muttered.
"I have eleven years to catch up," Aria shot back.
Elias' lips twitched into a smile he hadn't worn in years.
The Drive Home
The city's skyline glowed as they drove through its heart. Neon reflected on the car windows; billboards flashed brightly; pedestrians laughed on busy sidewalks. Aria watched everything with a strange mix of nostalgia and foreignness.
This world moved fast.Too fast.And she was far behind.
"We moved houses," Elias said suddenly. "After your… after the incident."
Aria felt her chest tighten.He couldn't even say death.
"Is it far?" she asked.
"Not really."
They drove into a quieter part of the city—cleaner, wealthier.Tall buildings gave way to gated communities and private roads.
Elias pulled up to a modern home with warm lights glowing through the windows.It didn't feel new or unfamiliar.It felt… waiting.
He turned off the engine.
"Aria."
She looked up.
Elias was staring at her, eyes gentle but full of unspoken fear.
"I talked to doctors when your body disappeared," he said quietly. "They said even if you returned, you wouldn't be… you." He swallowed. "But you're here. Alive. Talking to me. Pinching my ear." His voice trembled. "I thought if you ever came back, you'd hate me."
Aria's breath caught.
"Why would I hate you?"
"For not stopping it." Elias looked down, ashamed. "For letting you die."
Aria opened the car door and got out, circling around to him. She grabbed his sleeve."Elias. You didn't let anything happen. And I'm here now. That's all that matters."
He closed his eyes, just for a moment, as if her words healed something old and rotten inside him.
Walking Inside
The house smelled warm—like toasted bread and lavender.
Aria stepped in slowly, staring at the framed photographs on the walls.
Pictures of Elias at award ceremonies.Leon posing with his coworkers.Rayne making faces at the camera.
And then—
A photograph with a black ribbon.
Hers.
Aria froze.
Her own face stared back at her, smiling, frozen in time.Underneath the frame: In Loving Memory of Aria.
Elias stiffened behind her.
"We can take it down," he whispered. "If it hurts too much."
Aria reached up and touched the frame.
"I'm glad you kept it," she said quietly.
Her voice was steady, but her heart beat unevenly.
She would rewrite this family's fate.She would not let the story swallow them again.
In the Living Room
Elias brought water and sat beside her.
"Do you want to rest?" he asked softly.
Aria shook her head."Take me to Leon after he gets home."
Elias raised a brow. "You're that eager?"
"Yes," she said. "I need to see them with my own eyes."
Elias hesitated.
Then he nodded.
"Fine. After he comes back. And when Rayne returns from his race… you'll meet him too."
Aria tightened her fists.
She would face all of them.Protect all of them.No matter how the novel wanted them to fall.