That one word cut through his panic. Think. Damon stared at the office. Then he noticed something. The voice had come through a speaker.
There was a tiny red light beneath the desk inside the room. He stepped backward. It's a recording. Alina nodded. Exactly.
Victor looked at her with fear. You knew. I suspected. Damon turned toward Victor. Who set this up?
Victor didn't answer. Damon grabbed his shirt. Answer me. Victor's voice cracked. Let me go.
You knew my brother was alive. No. You knew he disappeared. Yes, you knew my father was involved. Victor closed his eyes.
Yes. Damon released him. The silence afterward felt heavier than shouting. Alina walked toward the office. Damon followed.
Inside, they found an old monitor, a small speaker, and a table covered with photographs. Not dozens, hundreds. Pictures of Damon training, driving, entering the gym, leaving his apartment. Talking to students sleeping in his car. Damon stared at them.
Someone has been following me. Alina nodded for years. He picked up one photograph. It showed him standing outside the gym. The date was printed in the corner 3 years ago.
The same week, Mateo disappeared. Damon looked at Alina. You knew about this. I knew someone was watching you. How?
Because they watched me, too. Victor suddenly stepped backward. Alina noticed. Victor. He stopped.
You said you didn't know. I don't. You're lying. I swear. Damon looked at the photographs again.
Then he noticed something strange. Every picture had been taken from a different angle, except one, a photograph of Alina. It had been taken from inside the janitor's closet. Damon slowly turned toward her. Someone has been watching you from inside this building.
Alina's expression hardened. Now you understand why I became a janitor. Damon frowned. What does that mean? It means nobody pays attention to the person holding a mop.
She pulled a small key from beneath her uniform. Victor immediately recognized it. Alina walked toward a metal cabinet in the corner. Victor stepped in front of her. You cannot open that.
Why? Because I promised. To whom? Victor didn't answer. Alina's voice became quiet.
To Mateo. Victor looked down. That was enough. Damon stepped forward. Open it.
Victor shook his head. Damon, you don'tt unexplain. I can't. Damon's patience snapped. Open the cabinet.
Victor looked at Alina, then at Damon. Finally, he stepped aside. Alina inserted the key. The lock clicked. She opened the cabinet.
Inside was a cardboard box. On top was a handwritten label. Cruz. Incidents. Damon reached for it.
Alina stopped him. Don't. Why? Because after you see what's inside, you can't pretend anymore. Damon looked at her.
I've spent 3 years pretending I didn't know what happened. He opened the box. Inside was a damaged phone, a blood stained training glove, and a folded sheet of paper. Damon unfolded it. His hands began shaking.
There were only two sentences. S Damon was not responsible for Mateo's disappearance. Cess underneath. But Damon knows who was. As Damon looked up.
I don't know. Alina stared at him. He will. Then the gym lights suddenly went out. A loud metallic crash came from the main training room.
Victor whispered, "We're not alone. " A second crash. Then footsteps, slow, deliberate, coming toward them. Damon looked at Alina. Stay behind me. She shook her head.
No. Why? Because whoever is coming. She reached into the cleaning cart. Her hand closed around something hidden beneath the towels is exactly who I've been waiting for.
The footsteps stopped outside the office. A man's voice spoke through the darkness. You should have left the past buried. Alina looked at Damon. Now we find out why.
Nobody breathed. The voice outside the office was calm, almost bored. Damon stepped toward the doorway. Show yourself. A shadow moved across the narrow opening.
Then the man walked into the emergency light. Damon recognized him immediately. Marcus. Marcus Reed was the gym's head instructor, the man Damon had trusted for nearly a decade. He was the person who had introduced Damon to competitive fighting, the person who had trained him after his father died, and the person who had told him 3 years earlier that Matteo had simply walked away after their match.
Damon stared at him. You? Marcus smiled faintly. You always were quick. Alena stepped forward.
You knew Mateo? Marcus looked at her. I knew exactly who he was. Damon's voice dropped. You told me he left.
He did. Then why are you here? Marcus looked toward the box on the table. Because you opened something that was supposed to stay closed. Damon picked up the damaged phone.
You've been watching me. Marcus didn't deny it. Yes. Why? Because you were getting too close.
To what? Marcus smiled. To the truth. You suddenly moved toward him. Marcus raised his hands.
Easy. She stopped. You remember me? Of course. 3 weeks.
3 years ago. Marcus's expression changed. You were at the hospital. Damon looked at her. What hospital?
Alina ignored him. Marcus said quietly. You shouldn't have come back. Alina's eyes hardened. You shouldn't have lied.
Marcus looked at Damon. She came here looking for revenge. Damon turned toward Alina. Is that true? Alina hesitated.
Marcus laughed. Ask her about the night Mateo disappeared. Damon looked at Alina. Tell me. She looked down.
I wasn't there. Marcus smiled. Exactly. Damon's eyes narrowed. What does that mean?
Marcus took a step closer. It means you've been listening to the wrong person. He pointed toward Alina. She didn't come here to uncover the truth. Damon looked at Alina.
She came here to finish what her brother started. Alina's jaw tightened. Don't Marcus continued. Mateo discovered something. He found out your father was using this gym for underground fights, illegal matches, betting, fixed outcomes.
A Damon shook his head. My father hated that kind of thing. Marcus laughed. Your father didn't hate it. He paused.
He owned it. Damon stared at him. No, he made millions. No. He used fighters nobody would miss.
Damon stepped forward. You're lying. Marcus pointed toward the box, then opened the phone. Damon looked down. The phone had no screen.
Marcus smiled. Plug it in. Alina suddenly said, "Damon looked at her. " "Why? " "Because he wants you angry. " Marcus nodded. She understands. Damon stared between them.
Then something clicked. "Wait. " He looked at Marcus. "If you were working for my father, why are you telling me this now? " Marcus's smile disappeared. "Because your father is dead. " "So, the person running everything now isn't your father? " "Silence," Damon whispered. Ooh.
Marcus looked directly at Alina. She knows. Alina's face became pale. Damon turned toward her. Ooh.
She didn't answer. Marcus stepped closer. Tell him. Nolena shook her head. Marcus suddenly pulled out his phone.
Fine. He tapped the screen. A video appeared. Damon saw Mateo alive, bruised, sitting in a chair. Damon's breathing stopped.
Make her. The recording began. Mateo looked directly into the camera. If Damon ever sees this, tell him one thing. He paused.
Don't trust the woman who cleans the floor. Damon slowly turned toward Alina. She looked devastated. Marcus whispered. Now you know.
Damon took one step away from her. Who are you? Alina's eyes filled with tears. I can explain. You've been lying to me.
I had to. Why? Because if they knew I was looking for you, they would have killed me. Marcus laughed. They almost did.
Damon stared at the screen. Mateo's recording continued. If you're watching this, Damon, the fight wasn't fixed. Damon's eyes widened. It was supposed to be.
Mateo shook his head. I won. The video cut to black. Damon looked at Marcus. What happened after?
Marcus said nothing. Alina answered. They couldn't accept that he beat you. Damon froze. I didn't lose.
No. Alina stepped closer. You didn't lose. She swallowed. Mateo refused to finish you.
Damon's face changed. He could have won. Yes. Then why? because he knew you weren't the enemy. Damon looked at the photograph again.
Everything he believed about that night was collapsing. Then Marcus suddenly lunged. Damon reacted instinctively. Marcus swung. Damon blocked.
The two men crashed into the wall. Alina shouted, "Damon! " Marcus threw another strike. Damon ducked. The fight exploded through the office doorway and into the training room. For several seconds, Damon fought exactly the way Marcus had taught him.
Then Marcus smiled. "You still fight like I taught you. " Damon stopped. Marcus whispered, "That's why you'll never beat me. " He attacked again. Damon stumbled backward. The clock above the gym doors suddenly illuminated seaserina looked at it then at Damon and she said something nobody expected.
Damon, stop fighting him. He looked confused. Why? Because this is what he wants. Marcus smiled, but Alina continued.
He doesn't want to beat you. She looked toward the security cameras. He wants someone watching this. Damon looked up. The cameras were recording.
Marcus' smile disappeared. Alina whispered and in exactly 60 seconds that footage goes live. The red light on the security camera blinked once, twice. Then every monitor in the gym turned on. Damon froze.
On the screens was the same image. Damon, Marcus, Alina, and Victor standing inside the training room. A countdown appeared. Fifty. Marcus looked at the screens for the first time that night.
He looked afraid. Damon noticed. You're scared. Marcus said nothing. You're not the one controlling this.
Marcus backed away. Alina nodded. Now you're starting to understand. A Damon looked at her. You knew this would happen.
Hoped. Huffed. I needed him to expose himself. Marcus suddenly laughed. You think you've won?