The heavy steel door of the vault suite hissed shut, plunging Anya and Lucien into a soundproof cocoon beneath the Thorne estate. The space was less a bunker and more a minimalist apartment, designed for long-term comfort and absolute security.
Anya walked through the living area, noticing the soft lighting, the fully stocked kitchen, and the small, secure lab station already set up for Dr. Zuo's work. She was still reeling from the rapid escalation of the past forty-eight hours: from delivery girl to Qilin, from gold-digger to the target of international corporate sabotage.
Lucien, having finished his emergency calls with his team above ground, turned to face her. His tie was loosened, and his jacket was discarded on a nearby chair—a level of casualness Anya hadn't seen before, which only made him seem more imposing.
"The counter-signature emitter is functioning perfectly," he stated, his voice now low and calm, devoid of the CEO's bark. "The Lombardi Group will be searching for a powerful energy signature based on the data Elara stole. They will find nothing, because Dr. Zuo has made you magically invisible."
Anya touched the cool metal pendant at her throat. "Magically invisible. So this is real. All of it." She met his eyes. "Lucien, you promised to start treating me as your equal. So, start now. Tell me about the Dragon's Breath Pine. Tell me about the Qilin's death."
Lucien ran a hand through his dark hair, an act of frustration and deep weariness. He walked to the window—a reinforced monitor screen showing a feed of the quiet, empty gardens above—and stood staring at the digital view of the spot where the great pine once stood.
"Five years ago, the Thorne Group was facing a hostile takeover," he began, his voice flat with forced control. "It wasn't a financial attack; it was a magical one, orchestrated by a rival who knew about the Thorne family's heritage. The Qilin—you, Anya—were the true core of our defense. Your presence amplified our luck and repelled ill fortune. You were our Xiao Bao."
He turned back to her, his gaze intense. "I was young, arrogant, and foolish. I relied on your protection without guarding you in return. The rival couldn't touch me directly, so they targeted you. They slipped past security—internal, I now believe—and poisoned the Dragon's Breath Pine. The tree was your spiritual anchor to this plane. When the roots died, the Qilin was ripped out of its body."
Anya gasped, a wave of profound phantom pain washing over her. "I remember the pain," she whispered, clutching her side. "The cold, the ripping…"
"I found your body by the dead tree," Lucien continued, the memory visibly scarring him. "You were just a large, beautiful snow-white shadow fading to mist. I tried everything. Dr. Zuo told me the soul essence was too fragmented to recover, but he found the single scale and your residual aura. I locked the garden, I liquidated the rival, and I became the cold CEO everyone knows. I hardened my heart because the only way to protect the future of the Thorne Group was to ensure no one knew our greatest weakness—that our Guardian was gone, and her Master failed her."
He walked toward her, halting a respectful distance away. "I locked you away in my memory, and I vowed that if you ever came back, I would not make the same mistake. That's why I was so possessive, so quick to lock you in the penthouse. I was afraid of losing my Qilin Xiao Bao again."
Anya stared at him. The confession was painful, raw, and utterly believable. The possessiveness wasn't just arrogance; it was trauma.
"And now you know the truth," Lucien finished. "The soul fragment in the scale was the only thing that allowed you to reincarnate quickly. But the one who poisoned the tree, the internal traitor… I still don't know who it was. The money trail was perfectly covered."
"It has to be the Lombardi Group," Anya mused, walking over to the holographic map Dr. Zuo had projected onto the vault table—a map showing the frozen assets of the Lombardi subsidiaries.
"No," Lucien shook his head. "The Lombardi Group is just the opportunistic predator. They are capitalizing on Elara's data theft. The true traitor is someone who had access to the Thorne internal security and the ability to handle rare poisons—someone close."
Anya felt a spike of frustration, then she saw it. On the holographic map, the frozen asset locations formed a distinct pattern—a circle surrounding the original Thorne Group HQ. She tilted her head, and her human mind registered the logistics, but her Qilin instinct registered something deeper.
"The pattern isn't an attack circle," Anya said, pointing a finger at the map. "It's a defensive barrier. The Lombardi Group isn't trying to invade. They're trying to prevent something from leaving."
Lucien's eyes widened, recognizing the brilliant, instinctive leap of logic. "Prevent something from leaving… what?"
"The target isn't the data," Anya realized, her Qilin memory finally clicking into place. "It's me. The stolen Qilin data they have is worthless unless they can match it to the living source. They don't just want the key; they want the key in the lock. They want to capture the Qilin."
Lucien stepped closer, his face a mixture of terror and fierce pride. "You are right. And we just gave them the perfect bait." He reached out, not to grab her, but to carefully brush a strand of hair from her cheek. "This time, Anya, we fight together."
Lucien walked toward the kitchen. "We have hours before the Lombardi Group's agents realize they are being cornered. We use this time to prepare."
Anya watched as the ruthless CEO, who could liquidate fortunes with a phone call, started boiling water for tea. He set out the most delicate china from the vault's pantry.
"I won't offer you a Master's Suite dinner tonight," Lucien murmured, carefully selecting a small, intricate pastry from a protected glass dome. "But I will give you what I couldn't give the Qilin five years ago: my presence, my full attention, and my honest affection, free of my selfish trauma."
He offered her the pastry. It was a dense almond treat, dusted with silver powder.
Anya took it, her hand touching his. The fear was still there, but it was now tempered by a deep, resonant connection. She realized that the greatest act of Group Pampering wasn't the silk dresses or the ruined careers of her enemies; it was the vulnerable trust offered by the man who had lost his soul trying to protect her.
"Thank you, Lucien," Anya said, the name feeling warm and right on her tongue.
As she ate the pastry, Lucien sat beside her, opening up the holographic map again. He began plotting the counter-attack, but his demeanor was different now. Every strategic decision, every risk calculation, was filtered through a new lens: Anya's safety and autonomy. He was no longer treating her as a pet, but as the Guardian.
"Tomorrow, we release the bait," Lucien stated, looking at the map. "We will make them think you are attempting to flee to a neutral zone. The trap must be perfect. But first, Xiao Bao," his voice dropped to a warm caress, "you must rest."
Anya finished the pastry, feeling a strange mix of deep exhaustion and renewed vigor. She knew that the person who cut down the Dragon's Breath Pine was still out there, and she wouldn't truly be safe until that final truth was revealed. The game had just begun.