Klara didn’t fall.

She would have, but Adrian moved faster than anyone in the room.

Before Mikhail even stepped forward, Adrian already caught her. One arm went around her waist, the other steadying her head so it wouldn’t hit the floor. Her body was cold against him, wet from rain and blood. She felt too light in his arms, like someone who had not eaten properly for days.

Her eyes were closed. Her breaths were thin and weak.

Adrian looked down at her face, his jaw tight. For a brief moment, something flickered in his expression, something close to fear but he shut it down fast.

“Mikhail!” he barked. “Get the car. Now!”

Mikhail rushed out of the room without a word.

Adrian lifted Klara fully in his arms. Her head rested against his shoulder, her hair sticking to his neck. He could feel blood soaking into his shirt. He didn’t stop to check how many wounds she had. He didn’t stop to ask questions.

He only held her tighter.

He was halfway to the door when he heard a small voice behind him.

“Mama?”

Adrian stopped.

Aliana stood in the middle of the office, her small hands trembling, her silver eyes wide with fear. Her cheeks were streaked with tears. She looked smaller than she had minutes ago. Her clothes were still damp from the storm, and her tiny shoes made soft sounds on the floor as she stepped toward him.

“Mama, please,” she whispered.

Adrian lowered his head for a second. Then he shifted Klara carefully and turned his body slightly so Aliana could see her mother’s face.

“She’s hurt,” Aliana cried. “She needs help.”

Adrian nodded once. “Come with me.”

He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t speak gently either. He spoke like someone who expected to be obeyed.

Aliana followed him quickly, wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

When they reached the hallway, Mikhail was already there.

“The car is ready,” Mikhail said. “The guards cleared the way.”

Adrian nodded. “Good.” He looked at Aliana. “Stay with Mikhail. He will take you to the hospital. I’ll go ahead.”

Mikhail blinked. “You’re driving yourself?”

Adrian looked at him sharply. “Do you see anyone else here who can hold her like this?”

Mikhail didn’t argue.

Aliana hesitated and grabbed Adrian’s sleeve. “Don’t leave Mama.”

“I’m not leaving her,” he assured, his voice steady and calm. “I’m taking her to the doctors. You’ll meet us there.”

Mikhail bent down to reach Aliana’s height. “I’ll stay with you,” he told her. “We’ll be right behind him.”

Aliana looked between the two men, scared but trusting. She nodded slowly.

Adrian lowered Klara into the back seat, supporting her head so she wouldn’t fall to the side. Blood stained the leather seat instantly. He climbed in next to her, shutting the door hard.

He didn’t waste a single second.

The car shot forward.

The roads were wet and slippery, but Adrian didn’t slow down. His grip on the wheel was firm. His other hand pressed against the wound on Klara’s stomach, trying to stop the bleeding. The fabric under his palm felt warm and soaked.

She didn’t open her eyes.

“Klara,” he said once, low but steady. “Don’t fall asleep.”

No answer.

He pressed harder on the wound. “Stay awake.”

Still nothing.

His jaw clenched as he pushed the car faster. Every driver ahead recognized the Volkov emblem on his front plate and moved aside. They didn’t need orders. They didn’t need explanations. Everyone made way the moment they saw who was coming.

Rain hammered against the windshield.

Adrian didn’t look away from the road.

He didn’t look away from Klara.

Not even once.

When he reached the hospital, doctors and nurses were already waiting outside. Mikhail had called ahead and told them who was coming.

As soon as the car stopped, the doors flew open.

Two doctors pulled Klara onto a stretcher. Adrian followed them out, his hands stained in her blood.

“Gunshot wound,” one doctor said. “Possible heavy blood lost, contact the blood bank, Move now.” others were flying.

They rushed her inside. Adrian took one step to follow, but a nurse stopped him.

“You can’t enter the operating room,” she said. “Please wait”

Adrian’s stare made her fall silent. He didn’t argue. He only stepped back when they pushed Klara through the doors and disappeared into the emergency hall.

Mikhail and Aliana arrived moments later.

Aliana was crying, her small body shaking hard. Mikhail lifted her in his arms, trying to calm her.

She only stopped when she saw Adrian.

She reached for him instantly, tears still falling. “Mama, where is she? Where did they take her?”

Adrian looked at her. The fear in her eyes was too familiar. He had seen it before in another woman with caramel hair (her mother)

“Whoever hurt her will pay for it,” Mikhail muttered beside him. Then he turned to Adrian. “Should we run a DNA test for her?”

Adrian didn’t even look at him. “No.”

Mikhail frowned. “It would confirm”

“She doesn’t lie about things like this,” Adrian said. His voice was quiet but firm. “If Klara says she is my child, then she is my child. Never bring that up again.”

Mikhail lowered his head. “Understood.”

Aliana reached for Adrian’s hand. He stared at her for a few seconds at her small fingers, her trembling shoulders, her silver eyes. Then he crouched down and sat on the bench beside her.

She climbed onto the seat next to him, her hands wiping her tears again and again.

“I don’t want anything to happen to Mama,” she whispered.

Adrian looked straight ahead. “Nothing will happen to her.”

Aliana sniffed. “How do you know?”

He turned his head toward her. “Because nothing happens to what is mine to protect.”

She stared at him like she was trying to understand his words.

Adrian studied her face for a moment. “Do you know who I am?”

Aliana nodded. “Mama said, you’re my father. She said only you can keep us safe.”

He nodded once. “Good. Remember that, in case of trouble.”

Aliana looked down at her hands. “Mama always says I should behave. She says trouble is bad.”

Adrian breathed out slowly. “You’re my daughter. Even if you walk into trouble, no one can harm you.”

She blinked up at him. “I don’t like trouble.”

Adrian let out the smallest scoff. “You’re just like your mother. How can you look like me and still act like her” he growled.

A tiny smile pulled at Aliana’s lips, but fear quickly returned. She leaned into his side, tired and shivering.

“What do we do now?” she asked quietly.

“We wait,” he said.

She nodded, but her eyes grew heavy. She yawned once, covering her mouth with her small hand.

“Sleep,” Adrian told her.

“I can’t,” she whispered. “Mama usually carries me and pats my back until I sleep.”

She looked up at him again, eyes soft and unsure. “Can you do it?”

Mikhail stepped forward. “Aliana, I can carry you. Your father has never held a sleeping child before”

Adrian gave him a sharp look. “How hard can it be. Klara already spoiled her too much, carrying her for one night won’t be that bad?”

Mikhail hid a grin behind his hand. “Right. Of course.”

Aliana stared at Adrian, waiting.

Adrian lifted his arms, stiff at first, like he was touching something fragile and unfamiliar. But when Aliana stepped into his hold and rested her head against his chest, he wrapped an arm around her back and placed a hand under her legs.

She fit perfectly in his arms.

Her breathing slowed almost at once.

For the first time that night, Adrian’s face softened.

He held her closer.

And he didn’t let go. Even when she had fallen deep.

Aliana slept in Adrian’s arms, but her small body was shaking. Her skin felt too hot against his chest. Her breaths were fast and uneven. Adrian’s jaw tightened as he touched her forehead. It burned under his palm.

“Mikhail,” he said quietly. “Call the doctor. Now.”

Mikhail, who had been standing near the door, turned fast. “What happened?”

“She’s shivering and burning,” Adrian said. “Move.”

Mikhail nodded and rushed out.

Adrian held Aliana tighter. She curled into him unconsciously, as if searching for warmth. Her fingers clung weakly to his shirt. Adrian looked down at her small hand. He had never held a child like this. He had never been responsible for someone this small. But right now, none of that mattered.

She was his.

And she was in pain.

A doctor hurried in with Mikhail. Adrian stood up with Aliana still in his arms.

“Her temperature is too high,” the doctor said. “She needs a room. A bed. We will start treatment there.”

“Find a room with two beds,” Adrian ordered.

The doctor blinked. “Sir, children have a separate ward. We”

Adrian cut him a look so sharp the doctor stopped breathing for a second.

“She stays with me,” Adrian said. “Two beds. My woman and my daughter will not be separated.”

Mikhail raised his hands quickly. “I will handle it,” he said, stepping in before the doctor made another mistake. “I’ll find a room.”

He ran out again.

Minutes later he returned with a nurse beside him. She walked toward Adrian with her arms out, ready to carry Aliana.

“I’ll take her now,” the nurse said gently.

Adrian did not move. He only stared at her. His eyes were cold and dark.

“You should listen before you touch her,” he said softly, too softly. “She is my daughter. If anything happens to her, your life alone won’t pay the price.”

The nurse froze.

“I will find your whole bloodline,” Adrian added. “Eight generations. Do you understand?”

The nurse swallowed so hard her throat shook. “Y-yes, sir.”

“Good.”

Only then did he allow her to take Aliana from his arms. But even as she did, Adrian’s gaze followed every move she made.

Mikhail stood beside him. “The room is ready,” he said.

Adrian nodded once. Then he turned to him. “Turn my office at home into a child’s room. Pink. I heard kids like pink. Make sure it is ready before we leave this place.”

Mikhail tried not to smile. “Understood.”

“You will also prepare a room for both of them. One room for Klara. One room for the girl. But connected.”

“I’ll see to it.”

“And make the announcement.”

Mikhail paused. “The announcement?”

Adrian looked at him. “Yes. Tell everyone that Klara Volkov is back. Tell them my wife is alive.”

Mikhail nodded slowly.

“But,” Adrian added, “you will not release any picture of Aliana. Not yet. No one sees her face.”

Mikhail understood then. Adrian wanted the world to know Klara was under his protection. He wanted the attackers to hear it and come if they dared. But he wanted Aliana hidden. Safe.

“And this hospital,” Adrian continued, “should be filled with our men. Every space. Every hallway. No one walks in or out without my permission.”

Mikhail bowed his head. “I’ll handle it.” He left quickly.

The moment he stepped out, Adrian’s men walked in one by one, filling the hallways, the doors, the stairs. The nurses stared. Doctors froze.

No one questioned it.

No one dared.

Within an hour, the public announcement spread.

Klara Volkov, the lost wife of Adrian Volkov, had returned.

And she was under his protection.

Adrian sat in the private room the hospital prepared. Aliana was in one bed, small and pale, getting medicine for her fever. Her cheeks were flushed, and her breathing soft. She was exhausted from shock and crying.

Klara was brought in next. Still unconscious. Machines were attached to her arm. Her skin was too pale. Her hair was damp from the rain.

Adrian stood between both beds for a long time before slowly lowering himself into the chair placed between them. He didn’t sleep. He didn’t rest. He only watched them, first one, then the other.

His wife.

His daughter.

Both almost taken from him.

Both back in his reach.

Hours passed.

Klara finally stirred.

But she wasn’t awake yet.

She was drifting in a memory, in the past.

She opened her apartment door after work, tired and ready to shower. But when she stepped into her room, she froze.

Adrian was there.

Sitting on her bed.

Holding her diary.

“What are you doing?” she asked, her voice sharp.

He smirked. “Reading.”

“That’s private,” she snapped. “Give it back.”

She moved toward him, reaching for the diary.

He lifted it higher.

She tried again.

He raised it more.

Her face brushed against his.

Their lips touched in the smallest accidental kiss.

Klara jerked back, face red. “Stop playing with me.”

“Why are you avoiding me?” Adrian asked.

“I’m not avoiding you,” she muttered, “I just, you can’t want me because of a one-night mistake.”

Adrian leaned closer. “Then let’s make it two nights.”

“Be serious,” she said, her voice barely a whisper.

He stared at her then. Really stared. His eyes were cold and focused.

“Listen,” he said. “I’ve slept with many women. I’m not marrying you because of your body.”

Klara swallowed.

“I’m marrying you because I love you,” he said. “And that’s the last time I will ever say it.”

Her breath caught. “You can’t love someone in just one night” She muttered.

But Adrian, he didn’t say anything, he just smiled and she smiled a little, her heart suddenly warm

Klara’s eyes fluttered open.

The dream slipped away.

And she saw Adrian sitting beside her, watching her.

She blinked, confused at first. Then pain hit her stomach, and she winced.

“You’re awake,” Adrian said quietly.

Klara breathed in slowly. “Thank you for helping me.”

Adrian didn’t smile. “It comes with terms.”

He picked up a paper from the table and placed it in her hand.

Klara frowned. “What is this?”

“A contract,” Adrian said. “Sign it.”

She looked at him, confused and tired. “Why?”

“It means you are bound to me,” he said. “You will not run again. You will never leave. You will stay where I can find you. If you don’t sign it, you will not see Aliana.”

Her breath stopped. “Adrian, she is your daughter”

“You used me,” he said coldly. “You ran and hid her from me for five years. You lkep t her away. How do I interact when I missed five birthdays”

“It’s four, she is turning five in a month” Klara whispered, her voice choked. “It doesn’t change what you did Klara”

“I had no choice,” Klara choked, “Back then”

“There is no ‘back then’,” he cut in sharply. “There is only now.”

Klara’s hands trembled around the paper.

Adrian leaned closer, his face hard and unreadable.

“You sign it,” he said, “or you don’t see her again.”

The ultimatum hung between them, heavy and cruel.

And there was no escape. She was back to the very cage she once ran away from.