LEX'S POV
The voice from the dark room froze Lex's blood. Marco. It was too soon. This was a trap. Vito had set her up.
Her fighter's instincts took over. She didn't step into the dark room. She grabbed the heavy ceramic lamp from her nightstand and yanked the cord from the wall. She stood to the side of the hidden door, weapon raised, heart pounding.
"Come out where I can see you," she demanded, her voice steadier than she felt.
A low chuckle came from the darkness. "Still a fighter, I see. Good."
A man stepped into the light of her bedroom. But it wasn't the man from her nightmares. He was older, with kind eyes and a sad smile. He held up empty hands. "I'm not Marco. My name is Enzo. I was your brother's trainer."
Lex's arm wavered. The lamp felt suddenly heavy. "Enzo?" She remembered him. A gentle man who always had lemon drops in his pocket. Leo's real friend.
"Vito brought me here," Enzo said, his voice soft. "He thought seeing a friendly face might… help. And he thought you might have questions only I could answer about that night."
The hidden room wasn't a trap. It was a private gym, smaller than the main one, with mats on the floor and a single heavy bag. And a link to her past.
Lex lowered the lamp. The adrenaline crash made her shaky. "He didn't tell me."
"He doesn't tell anyone everything," Enzo said. He walked into the gym and sat on a rolling stool. "Come. Ask your questions."
For the next hour, Lex sat on the mats and listened. Enzo told her what he knew. Marco had forced Leo to take the fight. He had threatened the family. Their father had already taken the loan from Vito to pay off earlier debts, but Marco kept raising the price.
"The fight was supposed to be fixed," Enzo said, his eyes wet. "Leo was supposed to go down in the third. But you know your brother. His pride… he couldn't do it. He started fighting for real. The other fighter, 'The Hammer', got angry. It got out of control. The punch that landed… it was bad luck. A terrible accident."
"But Marco called it," Lex whispered, the old pain fresh.
"Marco caused it," Enzo corrected, his voice turning hard. "And then he covered it up. He paid off everyone, including me, to stay quiet. I took the money to get my sick wife's medicine. I've hated myself ever since."
The story didn't change the past, but it filled in the horrible blanks. Lex felt drained, but cleaner, somehow.
After Enzo left through the hidden door (which connected to a private elevator, he explained), Lex packed a small bag with her few personal things from the dresser. She shoved in the faded gray Romano's t-shirt, her mother's bracelet, and the envelope with the clipping. It was a piece of home.
As she zipped the bag, the main elevator chimed.
Vito walked in. He'd changed into dark jeans and a sweater. He looked more human, which was more dangerous.
"You met Enzo," he said. It wasn't a question.
"Was that another test?" Lex asked, not looking at him, shoving her toothbrush into the bag.
"No. That was a gift. The truth is the only thing I can give you for free."
Lex zipped the bag too hard, and the cheap zipper split open at the end. A few things spilled onto the floor: the t-shirt, the envelope, and something else.
Something that clinked heavily on the polished wood.
It was a length of worn, black leather with tarnished silver medallions sewn onto it. Her championship belt from the Iron Ring. She'd kept it rolled up at the bottom of her old suitcase. The guards must have packed it.
Vito's eyes went from her face to the belt on the floor. He went very still.
Lex scrambled to grab it, to hide it again, but he was faster. He crossed the room in three strides and knelt down. He didn't touch it at first. He just looked.
Then, he picked it up. The leather uncoiled in his hands. He ran his thumb over the largest medallion, engraved with a sphinx head. His expression was unreadable.
He looked from the belt to her face, his dark eyes sharp with a new, piercing understanding.
"This is an Iron Ring championship belt," he said, his voice quiet. "Only one fighter in the history of that league went undefeated. They called her 'The Sphinx'. She vanished after her last fight. The night her brother died." He held her gaze, the belt dangling from his hand. "That's you, isn't it?"
The air left the room. All the lies were gone. He had the truth in his hands.
Lex couldn't speak. She just stared, caught.
Vito stood up slowly, holding the belt. He didn't look angry or betrayed. He looked… impressed. And calculating.
"This changes things," he said softly.
"How?" Lex managed to whisper.
A slow, real smile touched his lips. It wasn't friendly. It was the smile of a man who just found a secret weapon.
"Marco didn't just get your brother killed," Vito said, his eyes gleaming. "He robbed the world of its champion. He'll remember that. He'll want to see if the legend is still real." He handed the belt back to her. "Your first meeting with him is tomorrow. And now, you're not going as bait, Alessia."
He took a step closer, his voice dropping to a whisper.
"You're going as the main event."