-20 years ago-
"Xander, please, you have to take Fiore. There’s no one else I trust," Flora's voice cracked, her desperation cutting through the night air like a sharp blade. She tightened her grip around the small, fragile body of her four-year-old daughter, as though holding her tighter could ward off the storm that was coming. Reginald would come for her, and she knew what that would mean—what he would do. But not if Fiore was with Alexander. It was her only option.
Alexander’s eyes narrowed, his confusion etched in the hard lines of his face. He hadn’t seen Flora in four years, not since she had vanished without a trace. And now here she was, standing in front of him in the dark, asking him to take their child—the child he hadn’t known existed until this moment. "What is this about,
