Elias stared at the photograph, his grip tightening around the edges. The dim glow from the streetlamp barely illuminated the figure—but there was no mistaking it.
"That's him," Evelyn whispered. "That's the man I was supposed to meet."
A sharp breath from Dave shattered the silence.
His fists clenched. His jaw tightened. And when he finally spoke, his voice was low and cold.
"This man," Dave said slowly, "was my father." He turned to Elias, eyes burning with something close to rage. "I don't know who the hell you think you met, but this is not my father."
The room fell silent. Heavy. Thick.
Jonas glanced between them, tension rolling off him like a storm. Evelyn shifted uneasily. Even Lucien—usually unreadable—narrowed her eyes at the photo, as if searching for something hidden in the grainy shadows.
Elias finally set the picture down and exhaled.
"Then we need to figure this out," he said, his voice steady. He tapped the photo with a finger. "Because if that's not Victor Crane… then who the hell is it?"
No one answered.
But in that moment, they all knew—
Whatever had taken Crane's name and face…
It wasn't human.
And it sure as hell wasn't friendly.