Chapter 10 - The Mother Behind The Secret
The screens continued flashing.
WELCOME HOME, ELIAS.
Nobody spoke.
Sebastian stared at the message.
Not because he was surprised anymore.
Because he was tired of being surprised.
Every answer led to another secret.
Every secret led to another person who had lied to him.
He looked at Claire.
His mother.
The woman who had raised him.
The woman who knew he wasn’t Sebastian Vale.
The woman who allowed him to live inside a false identity.
"How long?"
His voice was quiet.
Claire looked at him.
"What?"
"How long have you known?"
Her eyes filled with regret.
"Since the beginning."
The words hurt more than he expected.
Lena looked at her mother.
"You knew everything?"
Claire looked down.
"I knew enough."
Sebastian laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because it was impossible.
"My entire life was a lie."
Claire stepped closer.
"No."
He looked at her.
"Then what was real?"
She had no answer.
And that silence was worse.
The hospital lights flickered.
The message disappeared.
Another screen turned on.
A video started playing.
Everyone turned.
A woman appeared.
Older.
Elegant.
Cold.
Sebastian froze.
His mother.
Not Claire.
His other mother.
The woman who raised him as a Vale.
Margaret Vale.
She looked directly into the camera.
"If you are watching this, then you found the hospital."
Sebastian stepped closer.
The recording continued.
"I knew this day would come."
Margaret looked calm.
Almost prepared.
"I knew Elias would eventually discover the truth."
Lena looked at Sebastian.
Elias.
The name still felt strange.
Like it belonged to someone else.
Margaret continued.
"I made mistakes."
A pause.
"But I did what I had to do."
Sebastian’s expression hardened.
"What you had to do?"
The recording could not hear him.
Margaret continued.
"The world cannot understand what Project Guardian was created for."
Daniel looked confused.
"She’s defending it."
Sebastian didn’t answer.
Because he heard something in her voice.
Not guilt.
Belief.
She truly thought she was right.
Margaret continued.
"People believe identity is something you are born with."
She looked into the camera.
"They are wrong."
The screen changed.
Images appeared.
Documents.
Files.
Children.
Names.
Lives rewritten.
"Identity is something that can be created."
Lena stepped backward.
"This is sick."
Margaret continued.
"We protected children from dangerous families."
Sebastian stared.
"Protected?"
His voice became colder.
"You erased them."
The recording continued.
"We gave them new lives."
Then the sentence that made everyone silent.
"Sebastian was the greatest success."
Sebastian walked away from the screen.
He couldn’t listen anymore.
The room felt like it was closing around him.
A success.
That was what he was.
Not a son.
Not a person.
A project.
A result.
Lena followed him.
"Sebastian."
He stopped.
"I don’t know who I am."
She looked at him.
For a moment, the powerful man disappeared.
The man everyone feared.
The man everyone obeyed.
There was only someone who had lost himself.
"You are the person standing here."
He looked at her.
"That’s not enough."
Lena stepped closer.
"It was enough for me."
He stayed silent.
She continued.
"Before I knew the truth about my mother, I thought I was nobody."
A small pause.
"But I wasn’t."
Her voice softened.
"Neither are you."
Sebastian looked away.
Because those words mattered more than he wanted them to.
Claire found something behind the old control panel.
A hidden compartment.
Inside was a small key.
And a letter.
She immediately recognized the handwriting.
Her face changed.
"No."
Sebastian noticed.
"What?"
Claire held the letter.
"It’s from Arthur."
Sebastian took it.
His hands were steady.
But his eyes weren’t.
He opened it.
Only a few lines were written.
Claire, if you are reading this, then I failed.
Sebastian continued.
I could not protect them forever.
Lena watched him.
The letter continued.
Margaret believes she can control the future. Thomas believes he can control people. They are both wrong.
Sebastian looked at Claire.
"Why didn’t you show me this?"
She looked ashamed.
"Because Arthur asked me not to."
Sebastian’s expression changed.
"My father trusted you."
Claire nodded.
"He knew I would protect you."
The words hit him.
Because despite everything...
Arthur had protected him.
Even if he wasn’t his biological father.
"He loved you," Claire whispered.
Sebastian looked down.
The letter continued.
If Elias discovers the truth, tell him this.
A pause.
Then:
He was never a replacement. He was never an experiment. He was my son because I chose him.
Sebastian closed his eyes.
For the first time in years...
The anger inside him cracked.
A noise came from the hallway.
Everyone stopped.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Confident.
Someone was approaching.
Daniel moved toward the door.
"I thought this building was empty."
Claire’s face changed.
She recognized the footsteps.
"No."
Sebastian looked at her.
"Who is it?"
She whispered:
"Thomas."
The door opened.
Thomas Reed entered.
But he looked different.
No nervous smile.
No fear.
No pretending.
He walked like someone who owned the room.
"You finally found it."
Sebastian stared.
"You."
Thomas smiled.
"Yes."
Lena stepped forward.
"You killed my father."
Thomas looked at her.
"No."
The answer surprised everyone.
"I saved you from him."
Sebastian’s eyes narrowed.
"You expect us to believe that?"
Thomas laughed.
"You still think this is about good and evil."
He looked at the files.
"It never was."
Thomas walked closer.
"It was about survival."
Claire stepped forward.
"You destroyed everything."
Thomas looked at her.
"You created it."
Silence.
Sebastian watched both of them.
Two people connected by the same secret.
Two people who had destroyed lives for their own reasons.
"Why?"
Thomas looked at him.
"Because your father discovered the truth."
"What truth?"
Thomas smiled.
"The truth about who you really are."
Sebastian stepped forward.
"Tell me."
Thomas looked at Lena.
Then at Sebastian.
"You want to know why Margaret erased your identity?"
A pause.
"Because she wasn’t protecting you."
Sebastian’s expression changed.
"Then why?"
Thomas reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old photograph.
And placed it on the table.
A baby.
A hospital room.
Two women.
Margaret Vale.
And Claire Hale.
Holding the same child.
Sebastian picked up the photograph.
His hands froze.
Because written on the back was a sentence.
The child belonged to neither family.
Thomas leaned closer.
"Because Sebastian..."
He whispered.
"You were never taken."
Sebastian looked at him.
"Then what happened?"
Thomas smiled.
And answered:
"You were given away."
The lights suddenly went out again.
And from the darkness, a familiar voice spoke:
"That’s enough, Thomas."
May you like
Sebastian froze.
Because the voice belonged to the one person who should have been impossible to hear.
