Mara eventually stopped asking him to come.
That was when Elias realized he had already lost her.
"Your mother didn't need a champion," he said.
Lena looked away.
"She needed a father."
"Yes."
"And you weren't one."
"No."
Silence filled the room.
Then Lena asked,
"Why did you come last night?"
Elias looked directly at her.
"Because I watched a man put his hands around my granddaughter's throat."
Lena swallowed.
"I could handle him."
"I know."
"Then why?"
"Because you shouldn't have had to."
The words stayed with her.
For the first time, Lena looked at him not as a legend or a stranger.
But as a man.
An old man carrying decades of regret.
The story of what happened after the match spread across the country within hours.
The video went viral.
Marcus Kane became the center of a national controversy.
Sponsors withdrew.
His championship was suspended.
The athletic commission opened an investigation.
But Marcus did not apologize.
Instead, he released a statement blaming Lena.
He claimed she had provoked him.
He said he had merely been "caught in the emotion of competition."
Lena watched the interview from the hospital.
Then she turned off the television.
"He's lying."
Elias nodded.
"Yes."
"What happens now?"
"You decide."
"About what?"
"Whether you fight again."
Lena stared at him.
"Of course I fight again."
"Why?"
She paused.
"Because I love it."
"Good."
"What?"
"If you fight because you hate Marcus, he'll control you forever."
Lena looked at him.
"If you fight because you love what you're capable of, then he becomes irrelevant."
That sentence changed everything.
Lena returned to training two weeks later.
Not at her old gym.
Elias took her somewhere else.
An old boxing hall hidden behind a mechanic's shop on the south side of town.
The building looked abandoned.
Inside, however, were heavy bags, a ring, worn wooden floors, and photographs covering the walls.
Lena stopped.
Every photograph showed Elias.
Young Elias.
Old Elias.
Championship Elias.
Bloody Elias.
Victorious Elias.
She stared at the pictures.
"You trained here?"
"Yes."
"Why did you bring me?"
"Because nobody here cares who you are."
A voice came from the back.
"I care."
A woman appeared.
She was in her sixties.
Short gray hair.
Sharp eyes.
She looked at Lena.
Then at Elias.
"So that's her."
Lena frowned.
"Who are you?"
The woman smiled.
"Ruth Bell."
Elias said nothing.
Ruth walked around Lena.
"You have your mother's feet."
Lena looked at Elias.
"She trained my mother?"
"She did."
Ruth pointed toward the ring.
"Get in."
Lena hesitated.
"I'm injured."
"Then move slowly."
Lena climbed through the ropes.
Ruth followed.
"Your problem isn't strength."
Lena frowned.
"What's my problem?"
"You fight angry."
"I won."
"You lost."
Lena stared at her.
"What?"
Ruth pointed toward the video screen.
A recording of the championship match was already playing.
"You won the scorecards."
She pointed at Marcus.
"But he controlled your emotions."
Lena watched.
Every time Marcus taunted her, she attacked harder.
Every time he stepped away, she chased.
Every time he hit her, she responded immediately.
Ruth shook her head.
"You were fighting him instead of fighting the fight."
Elias smiled slightly.
"That's what I told her."
Lena looked between them.
"Do you two enjoy making me miserable?"
Ruth laughed.
"Good."
"What?"
"You still have humor."
The training began.
It was brutal.
But different.
Elias taught her patience.
Ruth taught her timing.
Neither cared about her knockout power.