The moment Lucas saw the photograph, his entire body froze.

For the first time since I returned, the calm and indifferent expression he always carried disappeared.

His fingers trembled slightly as he held the old picture.

“Where did you get this?”

His voice was low.

Almost afraid.

I looked at him.

“Why?”

“Because you already know what happened that night.”

The room became silent.

Diana, who had been standing behind us, suddenly stepped forward.

“Lucas, what is she talking about?”

But Lucas didn’t answer her.

His eyes remained fixed on the photograph.

The photograph showed exactly what everyone had believed for two years.

A helpless Diana.

A wounded Lucas.

A man who had sacrificed himself to protect a woman in danger.

A tragedy.

A mistake.

But the reflection in the mirror told a completely different story.

Diana’s assistant wasn’t trying to save anyone.

She was making sure nobody entered.

She was closing the door.

Locking the truth inside.

I slowly took the photograph from his hand.

“Two years ago, everyone thought you stayed with my sister because you had no choice.”

“They said you were responsible.”

“They said Diana needed you.”

“They said I should understand.”

My voice became colder.

“But nobody asked me what I wanted.”

Lucas lowered his eyes.

For a moment, I saw the same sadness from my previous life.

The sadness of a man who carried a secret until his last breath.

“Victoria…”

I interrupted him.

“No.”

“Not this time.”

“I don’t want your apology.”

“I want the truth.”

Diana’s face changed.

“Sister, don’t listen to him.”

Her voice became nervous.

“You disappeared for two years. You don’t know what happened.”

I turned toward her.

“You’re right.”

“I wasn’t here.”

“I wasn’t here when you replaced my name on the wedding invitations.”

“I wasn’t here when you wore my grandmother’s necklace.”

“I wasn’t here when you took my place in the Lu family.”

I paused.

“But I was here when you sent that message.”

Diana’s expression froze.

Only for a second.

But I saw it.

The fear.

The same fear from the night before my engagement.

Lucas noticed it too.

His eyes slowly moved toward her.

“Diana.”

His voice was different.

“Tell me the truth.”

She stepped back.

“Lucas, why are you asking me that?”

“After everything I went through for you?”

“After everything I sacrificed?”

Those words sounded familiar.

Because they were the same words she had used before.

She always turned herself into the victim.

And everyone always protected her.

But this time, Lucas didn’t move.

“You knew Victoria would receive that message.”

Diana’s lips parted.

“You knew she would send me the location.”

“You knew I would go there.”

The entire room held its breath.

My father looked confused.

“Lucas, what are you saying?”

Lucas closed his eyes.

Like admitting the truth was painful.

“When I arrived at the clinic, Diana wasn’t alone.”

My heart tightened.

He continued.

“She was waiting.”

“She had prepared everything.”

Diana immediately shouted.

“That’s a lie!”

But Lucas looked at her with disappointment.

A kind of disappointment deeper than anger.

“I spent two years believing I ruined Victoria’s life because I was trying to save yours.”

“But the truth is…”

His voice became heavier.

“You ruined both of us.”

Diana’s face turned pale.

“No.”

“No, you promised.”

The word escaped before she could stop herself.

Promised.

Everyone heard it.

And everyone understood.

My father slowly looked at her.

“Promised what?”

Diana became silent.

For the first time, she had no excuse.

Lucas stepped backward.

“I thought I owed you my life.”

“But I didn’t realize you were using my guilt to control me.”

The street outside became silent.

Even Gabriel, who had been standing beside me, said nothing.

He simply watched.

Because he understood.

This was not just a family conflict.

It was a truth that had been buried for two years.

I looked at Lucas.

In my previous life, he died believing I hated him.

He died believing he had failed me.

But now…

I finally understood his last words.

“In the next life, send me its location.”

He wasn’t asking me to save him.

He was asking for the truth.

And now he finally had it.

Diana suddenly grabbed Lucas’s arm.

“Don’t leave me.”

Her voice shook.

“You said you would protect me.”

Lucas slowly removed her hand.

“No.”

“I said I would take responsibility.”

“There is a difference.”

At that moment, Gabriel stepped forward.

He placed his hand gently on my shoulder.

“Victoria.”

“Are you ready to leave?”

I looked around the house.

The place where I had once belonged.

The place where everyone decided my fate without asking me.

Then I looked at Lucas.

For the first time, he looked like the man from my memories.

The man who loved me.

But it was too late.

Some wounds could heal.

But some choices could never be undone.

I turned around.

“Yes.”

As I walked away, Lucas suddenly called my name.

“Victoria.”

I stopped.

But I didn’t turn back.

His voice trembled.

“I remember everything now.”

“The previous life.”

“The night you sent me the message.”

“The moment I chose to go.”

A long silence followed.

Then he said something that made my steps stop.

“And I also remember what happened after you left.”

My fingers tightened.

Because I knew.

Whatever Lucas was about to reveal…

Was the reason he had been trying to find me for two years.

And it was a truth that even Diana had been terrified would come out.