Chapter 10 - The Man Who Controlled the Truth
The man smiled.
"Hello, Nora."
I couldn't move.
I couldn't breathe.
Because I knew that face.
Not from memory.
Not from photographs.
From the way everyone reacted.
The fear.
The silence.
The way Adrian’s hand moved slightly toward his weapon.
This man was dangerous.
And everyone knew it.
Except me.
Again.
"Who are you?"
My voice came out cold.
The man looked amused.
"I suppose introductions are necessary."
He stepped inside.
The guards around him followed.
"My name is Alexander Blackwood."
The room changed.
Adrian’s expression hardened.
Victor looked away.
Elena grabbed Daniel’s arm.
And I understood.
Blackwood.
Another Blackwood.
Another person connected to my stolen life.
Alexander looked at Adrian.
"You look just like your father."
Adrian said nothing.
"You have his stubbornness."
A small smile appeared.
"And his weakness."
I looked at Adrian.
"What does he mean?"
Alexander ignored me.
His eyes stayed on Adrian.
"You were supposed to bring her to me."
My heart stopped.
Bring her to me.
I looked at Adrian.
No.
Not again.
Alexander noticed.
"Ah."
He smiled.
"You didn't tell her."
Adrian stepped forward.
"Enough."
Alexander laughed.
"You still think you can protect her."
He looked at me.
"How touching."
I felt anger rise.
"Stop talking about me like I'm not standing here."
Everyone became silent.
Alexander looked at me.
For a second, something changed in his expression.
Not kindness.
Recognition.
"You really do look like Elena."
My mother's name.
Always my mother.
Always the beginning of another secret.
"Why do you have that photograph?"
I pointed at the picture in his hand.
Alexander looked down.
The baby.
My face.
My past.
"This?"
He held it carefully.
"This is proof."
"Proof of what?"
He looked at Daniel.
"Tell her."
Daniel's face became pale.
"I can't."
My anger exploded.
"Why does nobody ever answer me?"
My voice echoed through the mansion.
"I was the one who lost everything."
I looked at all of them.
"I lost my childhood."
"My family."
"My memories."
"My entire identity."
My eyes filled with tears.
"And every single one of you knew."
Nobody spoke.
Alexander smiled slightly.
"That is why I like you."
I looked at him.
"What?"
"You have your father's fire."
Adrian moved.
"Do not talk to her."
Alexander looked at him.
"Still pretending to be the hero?"
His expression became darker.
"After what you did?"
I turned.
"Adrian."
He looked at me.
I hated that I still searched his face for answers.
"Did you work for him?"
A long silence.
Then:
"Yes."
The word destroyed me.
Even though I knew there were secrets.
Even though I expected it.
Hearing it still hurt.
Alexander smiled.
"There it is."
He looked satisfied.
"The truth finally comes out."
I stared at Adrian.
"When?"
His voice was quiet.
"Years ago."
"How many?"
"Seven."
Seven years.
The exact amount of time he had known where I was.
The exact amount of time he watched.
I stepped back.
"You found me because he told you."
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Then why?"
"Because I was trying to stop him."
Alexander laughed.
"Stop me?"
He looked around.
"You were my best soldier."
The room went silent.
Soldier.
That word felt wrong.
Adrian Blackwood.
The man who protected me.
The man who saved me.
A weapon.
Alexander continued.
"You were trained to follow orders."
Adrian's eyes became cold.
"Until I realized what those orders meant."
Alexander tilted his head.
"And then you betrayed your family."
"No."
Adrian looked at him.
"I chose her."
The words hit me harder than I expected.
Alexander smiled.
"Exactly."
He looked at me.
"That is why you are dangerous."
I frowned.
"Me?"
"You."
He stepped closer.
"You have no idea what your existence caused."
I wanted to laugh.
Because everyone kept saying that.
Like my birth was a crime.
"I didn't ask for any of this."
Alexander nodded.
"That is what makes you powerful."
I hated that answer.
"Where is the rest of the truth?"
Alexander looked pleased.
Finally.
A question he wanted.
"Your father hid something before he disappeared."
Daniel's expression changed.
"What?"
Alexander looked at him.
"You thought you were the only one keeping secrets?"
Daniel stepped forward.
"What did you find?"
Alexander ignored him.
He looked at me.
"Your father left you a choice."
"A choice?"
"Between two families."
I frowned.
"I don't understand."
"You will."
He handed me the photograph.
My fingers touched the paper.
On the back was writing.
My father's handwriting.
I turned it over.
Three words.
"Choose carefully, Nora."
My heart tightened.
Because beneath those words was another sentence.
Written by someone else.
"Your sister knows why."
I looked at Clara.
She immediately looked away.
No.
Not again.
"What does she know?"
Clara didn't answer.
"Clara."
Her face changed.
"I didn't want you to find out like this."
My stomach dropped.
"Find out what?"
She looked at Daniel.
Then Elena.
Then Adrian.
And finally me.
"The night you disappeared..."
She whispered.
"You weren't the only child taken."
Silence.
I waited.
But she didn't continue.
"Who else?"
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
"The person who took you..."
She swallowed.
"...was our mother."
Elena stepped back.
"No."
Everyone looked at her.
Clara shook her head.
"I'm sorry."
My body went cold.
My mother.
The woman who said she protected me.
The woman who cried when she saw me.
The woman who claimed she lost me.
"Why?"
I whispered.
Elena's tears fell.
"I had no choice."
"No choice?"
My voice cracked.
"Everyone says that."
I stepped away.
"Everyone always has a reason."
The mansion became silent.
Then Adrian's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face changed instantly.
"What is it?"
He didn't answer.
He handed the phone to me.
A message.
From an unknown number.
One picture.
One sentence.
The picture showed my mother.
Young.
Holding me as a baby.
But behind her stood another person.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who was supposed to have died.
The message below said:
"Ask Elena who she killed to protect you."
I looked up.
My mother was already crying.
Because she knew exactly who was in the picture.
And then the front door behind us slowly opened.
A man’s voice came from the darkness.
"She never told you about me, did she?"
May you like
Everyone turned.
Because the person standing in the doorway was the one person nobody expected to return.
