Chapter 10 - The Sister Who Never Left
The room went silent.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
I stared at the screen.
At the reflection.
At the face I had spent twelve years mourning.
My sister.
Sarah.
Standing behind Daniel.
Alive.
I looked at her.
Not the woman in the video.
The woman standing beside me.
The woman who had hugged me.
The woman who had apologized.
The woman who had told me she disappeared to protect me.
My mind refused to accept it.
"No."
The word came out quietly.
Sarah looked at the screen.
Then at me.
Her face changed.
Not confusion.
Not surprise.
Fear.
And that was when I knew.
She had expected this moment.
"You were there."
My voice shook.
She didn't answer.
"Sarah."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"Claire..."
"No."
I stepped back.
"You were there when Daniel died."
The room became heavier.
Adrian looked at Sarah.
And for the first time since I met him, he looked completely lost.
"You told me you were trying to protect her."
Sarah closed her eyes.
"I was."
"By standing behind Daniel?"
Adrian's voice became colder.
"What happened that night?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at my sister.
The person I had loved more than anyone.
The person I had buried.
The person who had become a stranger.
"I need the truth."
My voice broke.
"Not another secret."
Sarah looked at me.
And I saw something I hadn't seen before.
Shame.
"I went to Daniel because I knew he was investigating the Black Circle."
I swallowed.
"You knew?"
She nodded.
"Your father left something behind."
"The files."
"Yes."
Adrian stepped forward.
"What did Thomas leave?"
Sarah looked at him.
"The original archive."
Marcus frowned.
"Impossible."
"No."
Sarah shook her head.
"Everyone thought the archive was destroyed."
She looked at me.
"But your father hid it before he died."
I felt cold.
"Where?"
Sarah didn't answer.
Because she looked afraid.
Not of Adrian.
Not of Marcus.
Of something else.
"Where did he hide it?"
I asked again.
She whispered:
"Inside your life."
I stared.
"What does that mean?"
Sarah looked toward the screen.
"Daniel found out before he died."
My heart tightened.
"What?"
"He discovered your father didn't trust anyone."
She paused.
"Not Adrian."
Adrian looked away.
"Not me."
Her voice became quieter.
"Not even himself."
I didn't understand.
"My father hid something from everyone."
Sarah nodded.
"But he trusted one person."
She looked at me.
"You."
I laughed softly.
A painful sound.
"Why?"
"Because you were the only person who never wanted anything from him."
The words hurt.
Because they sounded like something my father would say.
Sarah continued.
"Your father knew the Black Circle would eventually become dangerous."
Adrian interrupted.
"Then why didn't he destroy it?"
Sarah looked at him.
"Because he couldn't."
"Why?"
"Because the person controlling it already had power inside every system."
Nobody spoke.
The old recording played again.
Daniel's voice filled the room.
"If Claire sees this, it means Sarah told her the truth."
Everyone froze.
Sarah looked at the screen.
Daniel continued.
"Claire, I know this will hurt."
His face softened.
"But your sister did not betray you."
I looked at Sarah.
"What?"
Daniel continued.
"She was trying to save me."
The room changed.
Sarah closed her eyes.
Tears fell.
I looked at Adrian.
Then back at the screen.
Daniel said:
"That night, Sarah found out who was planning the attack."
The video showed Daniel looking toward the person behind him.
"The problem was..."
He paused.
"...the person giving the orders was someone we trusted."
The screen flickered.
Then Daniel said:
"Someone who knew Claire."
My breathing stopped.
The video ended.
Again.
But this time, nobody cared about the missing information.
Because we had another question.
Sarah.
I turned toward her.
"You weren't helping him."
She shook her head.
"No."
"You were saving him."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Then why did you disappear?"
Her face broke.
"Because they found me."
A silence followed.
"Who?"
She looked at Adrian.
Then Marcus.
Then me.
"The people who killed Daniel."
I felt my hands go cold.
"But Daniel wasn't killed by Victor?"
"No."
Sarah whispered.
"Victor was only a part of it."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"Who else?"
Sarah looked at him.
"You already know."
His jaw tightened.
"No."
"Yes."
She looked at me.
"The person who betrayed Daniel was someone inside Adrian's own organization."
Marcus stepped back.
"That's impossible."
Sarah looked at him.
"Is it?"
Nobody answered.
Because suddenly everyone was questioning everyone.
Trust had disappeared.
Just like that.
A sound came from outside the room.
A heavy impact.
The hangar door shook.
Someone was trying to enter.
Adrian immediately moved.
"We leave."
Sarah grabbed his arm.
"No."
He looked at her.
"If they get inside—"
"They're not here for us."
Everyone stopped.
Sarah looked at me.
"They're here for Claire."
My stomach dropped.
Again.
Always me.
Always my life.
Always something I didn't know.
Adrian stepped in front of me.
"Then they get through me first."
I looked at him.
Even after everything.
Even after every lie.
He still moved toward danger.
For me.
The door shook again.
Marcus checked the cameras.
His face changed.
"There's only one person."
Adrian looked at him.
"Who?"
Marcus didn't answer.
He just turned the monitor.
The camera showed the outside entrance.
A single person standing there.
No weapons.
No guards.
No fear.
Sarah stepped closer.
Her face became pale.
"No."
I looked at her.
"Who is it?"
She whispered:
"The person who started all of this."
The figure outside lifted their head.
The camera zoomed closer.
And I recognized the face.
A face from my childhood.
A face from family photographs.
A face I thought had disappeared forever.
My father.
Thomas Bennett.
Alive.
May you like
The door unlocked from the outside.
Someone was waiting for us.
