Chapter 170 The Hidden Identity

Chapter 170 The Hidden Identity

 

"It's that one up ahead."

Talia pointed toward a two-story detached villa in the distance.

The Maybach pulled to a stop in front of the gate.

Leo stepped out, his face relaxed and smiling, as if he were just an ordinary visitor dropping by.

It was a typical French-style cottage—cream-colored exterior walls, a yard bursting with roses.

"Please, come in."

Talia pulled out her keys and unlocked the front door.

Leo stepped inside. Olivia stayed behind in the car, on standby.

The living room was cozy, simply decorated but tasteful.

"Please, have a seat. I'll get you some water."

Talia gestured toward the sofa, then turned and headed for the kitchen.

Leo sat down casually, but his eyes swept the room with quiet precision.

Several photos hung on the wall.

Talia's graduation portrait. A group shot with colleagues. And a yellowed old photograph—probably her and her father.

Everything looked normal.

But…

Leo's gaze settled on a book lying on the table.

A French biology textbook.

The pages were dog-eared, clearly well-read.

But…

Leo's sharp eyes caught something subtle.

A faint smudge on one of the pages.

A fingerprint. Left by sweat.

And the position—left thumb.

According to Talia's file, she was right-handed.

A right-handed person would turn pages with their right hand.

The detail was tiny.

So small almost anyone would miss it.

But to Leo, it was a crack in the facade.

Still, he showed nothing. His expression remained easy, natural.

"Mr. Ashford, here's your water."

Talia returned with a glass, a gentle smile on her face.

"Thanks."

Leo accepted the glass but didn't drink. He set it on the table.

"Dr. Martineau, where are your father's things?"

"Upstairs in the study."

Talia gestured toward the staircase. "I'll take you there now."

They climbed to the second floor.

The study was spacious, with shelves lined with professional texts.

Talia walked to one of the bookcases and pressed a hidden mechanism.

The shelf slid aside, revealing a wall safe.

"The password is my father's birthday."

Talia entered the code and opened the safe.

Inside were several notebooks, neatly arranged, along with some file folders.

"These are what my father left behind."

Talia handed Leo one of the notebooks. "Feel free to look through it."

Leo accepted it and opened it to the first page.

Dense French script filled the page—biological symbols, formulas.

It looked legitimate. Professional research notes.

But…

As Leo's head lowered to study the notebook—

Talia's hand slipped silently into her pocket.

The next second—

A faint hiss of pressurized gas.

A colorless, odorless mist sprayed from what looked like a perfume bottle in Talia's hand, aimed directly at Leo's face.

It was an extremely rare neural anesthetic.

Colorless. Odorless. Three seconds to unconsciousness.

And it left no trace afterward.

Talia's movements were flawless, her timing perfect.

The exact moment Leo's attention seemed most divided—head down, absorbed in the notebook.

But…

The instant the gas hit him—

Leo's reaction was utterly natural.

He kept his head down, still flipping through the notebook, as if he'd noticed nothing at all.

One second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

The notebook suddenly slipped from Leo's hands and hit the floor.

His body swayed, then tipped backward.

"It worked…"

A flash of triumph crossed Talia's eyes. She rushed forward to catch him, easing him into a chair.

She pressed her fingers to his neck, checking his pulse.

Breathing steady. Pulse normal.

He was out cold.

Talia exhaled in relief and pulled out her phone, dialing a number.

"Hello. It worked. Target is unconscious."

From the other end came a deep, middle-aged man's voice. "Well done, Yuna."

Yuna.

That was her real name.

She wasn't Talia Martineau at all.

The real Talia had been secretly captured three years ago.

And she—she was just an imposter.

"Father, are you sure someone else sent him?"

Yuna stared at the unconscious Leo, something complicated flickering in her eyes.

"Absolutely."

The man on the phone let out a cold laugh. "Over the years, countless factions have tried to get their hands on Etienne's research."

"This Leo is probably just another spy sent by one of them."

"You did well, Yuna. Tie him up. I'll be there soon."

"Yes, Father."

Yuna hung up and retrieved a length of rope from a desk drawer.

She approached Leo, ready to bind his wrists.

But—

The moment her fingers brushed his wrist—

Leo's eyes—previously closed—snapped open.

Those dark, bottomless eyes locked onto Yuna with icy clarity.

"…What?!"

Yuna stumbled backward.

"You… how are you… that dose could drop an elephant…"

Leo rose from the chair slowly, brushing imaginary dust off his coat.

"That little anesthetic? To me, it's like catching a whiff of perfume."

A cold smile tugged at Leo's lips. "Yuna. Or should I say… the fake pretending to be Talia?"

"You've misunderstood something."

Hearing Leo speak her real name, Yuna's composure shattered completely.

"You… you…"

Just then—

"BANG!"

The study door exploded inward, kicked open from the outside.

A burly middle-aged man stormed in, flanked by several armed guards.

"Get away from my daughter!"

The man leveled a gun at Leo, the barrel a black void aimed straight at him.

Seeing Leo standing there while Yuna cowered to the side, fury blazed across his face.

"You damn spy! Faking unconsciousness to trick my daughter!"

"All of you—grab him! Tie him up! I want to know exactly who sent you!"

The guards rushed forward to subdue Leo.

But—

Leo simply stood there, watching them all with an unsettlingly calm gaze.

"I told you."

Leo's voice was quiet. "You've misunderstood."

"Misunderstood?"

The middle-aged man sneered. "Still playing games at a time like this?"

"I'm not here to hurt you."

Leo took a slow breath, his eyes sweeping over everyone present.

"I'm here to help you."

"Help us?"

The man froze for a beat, then burst into laughter. "Ha! That's rich! Some stranger shows up uninvited and claims he wants to 'help us'?"

"You think we're stupid?"

"I'm not lying."

Leo reached inside his coat and pulled out a set of credentials.

Special identification.

Bearing the Pentagon's emblem, along with Leo's photo and codename: 'Reaper.'

The moment they saw it, both the middle-aged man's and Yuna's faces went pale.

"Reaper?"

The man's eyes widened. "You… you're the one who tore through the Drake family, the Romano family, the Gray Cloaks, and Nightfall across Europe… 'Reaper'?"

"That's me."

Leo tucked the credentials away, his gaze steady on the man. "Now. Can we talk like adults?"

"About Étienne Martineau. About Kenichi Yamamoto. About The Evernight Order…"

"And…"

Leo paused.

"About the secret you've been hiding all these years."