Joan sat nervously beside Alexander''s hospital bed, forcing a smile. She wasn''t ready for the first thing out of his mouth.


    "Where''s ire?" Alexander''s voice was weak, but his question was clear.


    Joan tried to brush it off. "You should rest. Don''t worry about that now."


    But her son wasn''t letting it go. "Where''s ire?" he repeated, this time with a more disappointed look.


    Joan took a deep breath. She didn''t know where ire was, and truthfully, she didn''t want to know. But she couldn''t dodge the question forever. "I... I don''t know."


    "Oh," Alexander sighed, his face falling. He had hoped ire would be here when he woke up. "Can you call her? Ask her toe?"


    Joan hesitated. She didn''t want to. Not after what had happened. But she smiled softly at Alexander and tried to change the subject. "What happened? How did you get hurt like this? Did... did ire have anything to do with it?" Alexander''s frown deepened. "No, Mom. ire didn''t do anything."


    Joan blinked, surprised. "What do you mean?"


    With a tired sigh, Alexander exined. "It was Lisa. She hurt Abigail. Then me. She was going to go after ire too."


    Joan gasped, her hand flying to her mouth. That wasn''t what she expected to hear at all.


    Alexander narrowed his eyes, watching his mother closely. Something wasn''t adding up. "Mom," he said slowly, "did you... did you do something to ire?"


    Joan couldn''t hide it, not from him. She looked down in embarrassment and nodded.


    Alexander''s eyes widened. "What did you do?"


    Joan looked up, guilt written all over her face. "I... I thought ire was responsible for all of this. I was so emotional, Alex. I-" she hesitated, "I pped her." Alexander tried to sit up, wincing as pain shot through his body. "Mom! Why would you do that?"


    "Don''t move!" Joan cried out, rushing to keep him lying down. "You''ll hurt yourself more."


    But Alexander wasn''t letting it go. "Why did you think it was ire?"


    Joan sighed, trying to make sense of her own actions. "I thought... I thought she hated you, Alex. She was there at the hospital, and when I saw you like that-hurt and needing surgery-I just lost it."


    "You should''ve asked her first," Alexander said softly but firmly. "I know that ire and I don''t have a good rtionship, but I know that she wouldn''t hurt me physically."


    "You''re right," Joan admitted, rubbing her temples. "I don''t know what got into me. ire''s not a bad person, but you always seem to be around when things go wrong with her. Like that fire at the fashion show. You were with ire then too." Alexander sighed, tired of trying to exin. "Mom, that was Lisa''s fault too. ire had nothing to do with it."


    Joan looked at her son with wide eyes, clearly not expecting this. "Lisa? Again? How is she involved in all of this?"


    "She''s a lot more dangerous than you think," Alexander said with a pained expression, still lying back against the bed. "She went after


    Abigail first, trying to warn her in anovelbin


    way. Then she goes after ire because ire ruined her n or something like that. But the reason why I got hurt was because I was trying to save ire. Lisa was trying to hurt her and everything that happened was because of me. I was the one who had a rtionship with Lisa."


    "So you sacrifice yourself to save ire?"


    "Yeah, Mom. ire''s been there for me through all this. You''ve got her all wrong."


    Joan sank into the chair, feeling like the room was spinning. She had been so convinced ire was bad news. Now everything was upside down.


    "I feel terrible," Joan admitted, her hands trembling. "I just wanted to protect you, but I acted without thinking."


    Alexander gave her a weak smile. "I get it, Mom. You were worried. But you can''t just go around pping people."


    Joan''s eyes went wide, and she couldn''t help butugh a little. "Oh, God. I really pped her, didn''t I? What''s gotten into me?"


    "Yeah, you did," Alexander chuckled, despite the pain. "I''m just d ire didn''t p you back."


    "She could''ve, and I wouldn''t have med her." Joan shook her head. "What am I going to do? I need to apologize."


    "You do," Alexander agreed, "but first you need to call her. And I...I wanted to see her."


    "Alright, I''ll call her. I''m worried that she will end up having a grudge against me." Alexander smiled and shook his head. "ire won''t have a grudge on you. I know her."


    ire leaned back in her chair, her


    arms crossed tight over her chest. The basement of Cryptonic was dim and cold, with a single flickering light overhead casting long, eerie shadows. Just a few steps away, Lisa was slumped unconscious in another chair, still out cold from whatever Matthew had done to get her there. ire''s face was like a mask, icy and unreadable as she stared at Lisa''s motionless form.


    "She''s finally gonna pay for this," ire thought, her jaw clenched tight. Lisa had gone way too far this time, hurting Abigail, Alex, and even her. Whatever twisted ideas were swirling around in Lisa''s head, ire was going to put a stop to them. No more games. "Matthew," ire said sharply, not taking her eyes off Lisa. Her voice was calm, but there was a bite to it, like a de hidden in velvet. "Get the water."


    Matthew, standing by the wall, gave


    a brisk nod. His expression was serious, all business. He bent down and grabbed the bucket of icy water they''d prepared earlier. Without any hesitation, he walked over to Lisa and, with a swift motion, sshed the freezing water straight into her face.


    Lisa jolted awake with a gasp, her chest heaving as she sucked in a breath. "What the ?!" Her eyes flew open, wide and confused. She looked around wildly, taking in the bare room, and the cold concrete walls, and then her gaze locked on ire. "ire?" Lisa''s voice was shaky, and her confusion turned into shock. "What the hell? Where am I?"


    ire didn''t move, didn''t blink. Her face was as cold and hard as ice, and the look in her eyes sent a shiver down Lisa''s spine. "Enjoy your nap, Lisa?" ire asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm.


    Lisa flinched at the tone. She had never seen ire like this before, so calm yet so terrifying. "Nap? What are you talking about? Why am I here?!" Lisa struggled against the ropes tying her wrists to the arms of the chair, her heart pounding.


    "You''ve got a lot of nerve asking that," ire said, leaning forward slightly, her eyes never leaving Lisa''s face. "After what you did to Abigail and Alex? And to me?" Her voice was calm, but there was a dangerous edge to it, like a storm brewing beneath the surface. Lisa''s mouth opened and closed like a fish gasping for air. "ire, I-I didn''t mean to—"


    "Save it," ire snapped, cutting her off. "You knew exactly what you were doing. ying your little games, hurting others in the process. If you can look at yourself, you would be disgusted by your own action."