Chapter 5 - The Mother Who Never Left
The woman standing behind the door looked exactly like the memory I had spent years trying to protect.
Older.
Tired.
Changed.
But still her.
My mother.
For a moment, my mind refused to accept what my eyes were seeing.
Because people did not come back from the dead.
People did not return after ten years of silence.
People did not suddenly appear in a hidden room beneath a billionaire's private club while armed men waited outside.
But she was there.
And she was looking at me.
"Priya."
Her voice broke.
Just one word.
My name.
The same way she used to say it when I was a child.
The same way she said it when I was scared.
The same way she said it when she promised she would always protect me.
I couldn't move.
I couldn't speak.
I had imagined this moment thousands of times.
In my dreams, she came back.
In my dreams, I ran to her.
In my dreams, I asked why she left.
But standing there in reality, all I felt was anger.
Ten years of anger.
"Why?"
The word escaped before I could stop it.
My mother's face changed.
Pain crossed her eyes.
"Priya..."
"No."
My voice became stronger.
"No, you don't get to say my name like nothing happened."
Nobody interrupted.
Not Cassian.
Not Elena.
Not the guards standing behind us.
Because everyone knew this moment belonged to me.
"You were dead."
My mother looked down.
"I know."
"I went to your funeral."
Her eyes closed.
"I know."
"I cried for you."
Her breathing became uneven.
"I know."
I stepped closer.
"Then why did you let me believe it?"
The silence was unbearable.
My mother looked at Cassian.
And that made my anger return.
Because even now, even after ten years, there were still secrets between us.
"Look at me."
She did.
"I deserve the truth."
She nodded slowly.
"You do."
She stepped out of the room.
The guards immediately moved, but Cassian stopped them.
"Nobody touches her."
His voice was firm.
Not because he trusted her.
Because he understood.
This was bigger than security.
Bigger than the attack.
Bigger than everything that happened tonight.
My mother looked around the hallway.
Her eyes landed on Cassian.
"You still wear the same watch."
Cassian looked at her coldly.
"You still disappear when people need you."
The words hurt both of them.
I noticed.
There was history here.
A history nobody wanted to explain.
My mother looked at the photograph on the table.
The one that started everything.
"You found it."
Cassian nodded.
"Your daughter found it."
My mother's eyes moved to me.
A sad smile appeared.
"My daughter."
I hated how much those words affected me.
Because part of me wanted to run into her arms.
Part of me wanted to scream.
Both feelings existed at the same time.
"Tell me everything."
My mother looked at Elena.
Then at the older man.
Then at Cassian.
Finally, she looked at me.
"Ten years ago, I discovered that someone inside Cassian's organization was selling information."
Cassian's expression hardened.
"Who?"
"I never found out."
The older man stepped forward.
"You found out enough."
My mother looked at him.
"And that is why you tried to kill me."
The room went silent.
I looked at the older man.
Cassian's father.
His expression remained calm.
"I tried to save you."
My mother laughed softly.
There was no humor in it.
"You destroyed everything."
Cassian stepped forward.
"Father."
The older man looked at him.
"She told you I was responsible?"
"No."
Cassian's voice was cold.
"She didn't have to."
The older man sighed.
"Still blaming me."
"You disappeared."
"I protected this family."
"You broke it."
The tension between them felt older than me.
Older than the club.
Older than the attack.
My mother looked at me.
"Priya, there is something you need to understand."
I waited.
"Your father wasn't killed because of a random accident."
My heart tightened.
I had spent my entire life with one story.
My father died before I was born.
That was all I knew.
"He was murdered."
The words hit me harder than expected.
I felt Cassian watching me.
Like he wanted to say something.
But he didn't.
"Why?"
My mother looked away.
"Because he found the evidence."
"What evidence?"
She hesitated.
Then reached into her coat.
She pulled out a small object.
A flash drive.
Old.
Scratched.
Almost forgotten.
"This."
Cassian immediately recognized it.
"That's what they were looking for."
My mother nodded.
"The reason they came tonight."
The room became silent again.
I looked at the flash drive.
"What's inside?"
My mother's expression became serious.
"Everything."
The word sounded impossible.
"Everything about what?"
She looked at Cassian.
Then at his father.
Then back at me.
"The people who built their power on secrets."
Cassian took a step closer.
"Who?"
My mother didn't answer.
Because suddenly, the entire building shook.
A loud explosion came from somewhere below.
The lights flickered.
The guards immediately moved.
"Everyone down!"
Glass shattered in the distance.
People screamed.
The attack wasn't over.
It had only changed.
Cassian grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him.
This time, I didn't argue.
Because I saw his expression.
He wasn't protecting his reputation.
He wasn't protecting his empire.
He was protecting me.
"How did they find us?" Elena asked.
Nobody answered.
Then one of the guards rushed down the hallway.
"Mr. Voss!"
Cassian turned.
"What happened?"
The guard looked terrified.
"Someone opened the private security system."
Cassian's face changed.
"Impossible."
The guard shook his head.
"It was opened from inside."
Everyone went silent.
The meaning was clear.
The enemy wasn't outside.
The enemy was standing with us.
My mother suddenly looked toward the hallway.
"No."
Cassian noticed.
"What?"
She whispered:
"They found the room."
The guard raised his weapon.
"Mr. Voss..."
A sound came from the end of the corridor.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Someone walking toward us without fear.
Cassian positioned himself in front of me.
His father moved beside him.
For the first time, they stood on the same side.
The footsteps stopped.
A figure appeared in the darkness.
A person none of us expected.
Because the person standing there wasn't an enemy.
It was someone Cassian trusted more than anyone.
The person holding the key to the entire betrayal.
May you like
And then Cassian whispered one name:
"Victor..."
