Page 64 of Lone Wolf

“I didn’t have to. The cartel did it for me just six months after he sold you to them.”

Mari absorbs this without visible reaction, then simply nods. “Good.”

“After that, I left home. I was on my own,” I continue. “I did whatever it took to survive on the streets while I looked for you. Eventually, I found my way to the Syndicate.”

“And to Ariadne,” Mari adds, glancing between us.

“That was…more complicated,” I say with a small smile toward the woman who’s become my anchor.

Mari looks at Ariadne again. “You don’t strike me as someone who makes connections easily,” she says.

“I don’t,” Ariadne replies with unexpected honesty. “Because I was trained for years to be a weapon, not a person.”

Mari’s eyebrows raise slightly and she drops her voice, looking around warily. “By the Syndicate?”

“No. By a woman we called Grandmother. The Syndicate helped me escape her influence. I was sold to her, abused, trained until I had no thoughts of my own anymore. But now I am free,” Ariadne says simply. “And your sister has been a large part of that.”

“Can I ask...” Mari hesitates, then continues. “Did you manage to forget?”

I stay quiet, curious about Ariadne’s answer. This is something I’ve wondered about too, but never asked.

“No,” Ariadne says carefully. “I can’t forget. I want to, and I even pretended I had for a while—but that just made things worse. I know now that I’ll always carry what happened, but eventually, it will become just one part of my story, not the whole thing.”

“What helped you the most?” Mari asks quietly.

I watch Ariadne consider this, her face softening slightly as she thinks.

“Time. Learning to trust my own judgment again.” Her eyes meet mine as she adds, “And having people around me who see who I really am beneath the trauma.”

My heart swells at her words.

“It won’t necessarily be the same for you,” Ariadne continues, and I’ve never heard her sound so gentle as she comes forward to crouch down in front of Mari. “Everyone’s path is different. But there is a path.”

Mari contemplates this, then nods slowly. “I don’t know who I am without the fear anymore. It’s been so long.”

“You’ll figure it out,” I tell her with absolute conviction. “And we’ll be there, whatever you need.”

“We will,” Ariadne confirms simply. “All of us.”

The doctor finally comes to check Mari, who is by now visibly exhausted. But as she’s led away to a private room for her evaluation, she looks back at me with a flash of panic.

“I’ll be right here,” I promise. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Once Mari is out of earshot, I turn to Ariadne, the walls I’ve maintained during the mission finally crumbling. Without a word, she pulls me into an embrace, and I let the tears come, my body shaking with relief and disbelief.

“She’s alive,” I whisper against her shoulder. “All this time, she was alive.”

“And you found her,” she says simply, holding me tighter. “I’m so happy for you, Sunny.”

I pull back just enough to look at her. “Wefound her. I couldn’t have done this without you—or the Syndicate.”

Before Ariadne can respond, Hadria approaches, her expression as close to relaxed as it ever gets. “Well done, both of you. The operation was a complete success. All women accounted for, minimal casualties, and we’ve captured three Mancini lieutenants for interrogation.”

“What will happen to the women we pulled out of there?” I ask anxiously.

“That’s up to them,” she says. “They will be able to make their own choices—and the de Luca network will be able to get them wherever they want to go, and support them when they get there.”

“But Mari…” I say. “She—I can’t let her—” I break off, anxiety flooding me.

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