Chapter 9 - The Name Hidden For Nineteen Years
"Your father was..."
Daniel stopped.
The silence inside the room was unbearable.
Everyone waited.
Elena couldn't breathe.
She looked at Thomas.
The man who had disappeared.
The man who had watched her from the shadows.
The man who had spent nineteen years protecting a secret.
Thomas looked away.
And that was the moment Elena knew.
Daniel wasn't lying.
"Tell me."
Her voice was quiet.
Nobody answered.
"Tell me."
This time louder.
Thomas closed his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
The words hurt more than the truth.
Elena stepped back.
"No."
Thomas looked at her.
"Elena..."
"No."
She shook her head.
"Not another secret."
The room remained silent.
Adrian watched Thomas carefully.
"Who is her father?"
Thomas looked at him.
The pain in his eyes was clear.
"Someone you knew."
Elena felt cold.
Someone Adrian knew.
Someone connected to everything.
Daniel smiled from the screen.
"Finally."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Daniel."
Daniel ignored him.
"You spent years protecting her without knowing why."
He looked at Elena.
"Do you want to know who you really are?"
Elena stared at the screen.
"Yes."
Daniel smiled.
"Your father was Alexander Voss."
Nobody moved.
The name meant something.
Elena could see it on their faces.
Marcus.
Claire.
Adrian.
Everyone reacted.
Except her.
Because she didn't know.
"Who is Alexander Voss?"
Adrian looked at her.
His face had gone pale.
"My father."
The words hit like a shock.
Elena looked between Adrian and Thomas.
"No."
Thomas stepped forward.
"Elena."
"No."
She backed away.
"You're saying Adrian's father was my father?"
Nobody answered.
Because the answer was obvious.
Daniel laughed.
"Now you understand."
Adrian stared at the screen.
"Why are you telling her this?"
"Because she deserves to know."
"You don't care about what she deserves."
Daniel smiled.
"No."
A pause.
"I care about what she can unlock."
Elena looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel leaned closer.
"Your father left something behind."
Thomas's face changed.
"Stop."
Daniel looked amused.
"Still protecting her?"
Thomas's hands tightened.
"Daniel."
"You know I'm right."
The screen flickered.
Another document appeared.
A family record.
Elena's name.
Alexander Voss.
Adrian's name.
The connection was undeniable.
Her entire life had been connected to the people she feared most.
Adrian looked away.
Elena noticed.
"You knew."
He looked at her.
"No."
"Don't lie."
"I didn't know you were his daughter."
"But you knew Alexander had another child."
Adrian remained silent.
That silence broke her.
"You all knew pieces of my life."
Her voice shook.
"And nobody thought I deserved the truth."
Thomas stepped closer.
"I was trying to keep you alive."
"By pretending I didn't exist?"
"No."
"By letting me believe I was abandoned?"
Thomas stopped.
The pain on his face was real.
But Elena didn't know if that made it better.
A loud alarm interrupted them.
Marcus looked at the system.
"We have a bigger problem."
Nobody moved.
"The facility is losing power."
Adrian turned.
"Can you stop it?"
Marcus shook his head.
"Someone is shutting down the entire network."
Daniel smiled through the screen.
"You're running out of time."
Thomas looked at him.
"What did you do?"
Daniel leaned back.
"I didn't do anything."
A pause.
"The person who controls me did."
Everyone froze.
Adrian stepped closer.
"What?"
Daniel smiled.
"You thought I was the enemy."
The screen glitched.
"You were wrong."
The image distorted.
Then another face appeared.
An older man.
A man Elena had never seen.
But Adrian recognized him.
His expression changed instantly.
"No."
Marcus looked at him.
"Who is that?"
Adrian whispered:
"My father."
Nobody understood.
"Alexander Voss."
Elena stared.
The man on the screen looked older.
Cold.
Powerful.
Impossible.
Because Alexander Voss was supposed to be dead.
Daniel spoke.
"You wanted answers."
He looked at Elena.
"Now you get them."
The screen showed Alexander sitting in a dark room.
His voice was calm.
"Elena."
She froze.
He knew her name.
"My daughter."
The words felt unreal.
Adrian stepped back.
"No."
Alexander continued.
"I know this is confusing."
Elena stared.
Confusing was not the word.
Her entire identity had collapsed.
"I watched you grow."
Alexander continued.
"I protected you."
Thomas became angry.
"You abandoned her."
Alexander looked at him.
"You stole her."
The accusation shocked everyone.
Elena looked at Thomas.
"What is he talking about?"
Thomas didn't answer.
Alexander continued.
"Thomas believed he was saving you."
A pause.
"But he never told you the truth."
Elena looked at her father.
The word still felt strange.
"Which truth?"
Alexander looked directly at the camera.
"The night you were born, Adrian's life changed forever."
Adrian frowned.
"What are you talking about?"
Alexander ignored him.
"Your birth exposed a betrayal inside the Voss family."
Elena listened.
"Someone tried to kill you before you were even born."
Thomas looked down.
"Because they knew what she represented."
"What?"
Alexander answered.
"The rightful heir."
The room went silent.
Elena felt dizzy.
"To what?"
Alexander smiled slightly.
"Everything."
Adrian stepped forward.
"You're manipulating her."
Alexander looked at him.
"Still protecting her."
The same words.
Again.
Adrian clenched his jaw.
"You died."
Alexander smiled.
"No."
A pause.
"I disappeared."
Elena stared at the screen.
Everyone she loved.
Everyone she trusted.
Everyone she thought she lost.
Had been hiding.
Alexander continued.
"And now that Elena has opened the file..."
The lights suddenly returned.
The security system restarted.
Marcus checked the screens.
His face changed.
"What?"
Adrian looked at him.
"What happened?"
Marcus turned the monitor around.
A new location appeared.
A map.
A red signal.
Thomas saw it.
And immediately went pale.
"No."
Elena looked at him.
"What is it?"
Thomas didn't answer.
Adrian looked at the location.
Then at Thomas.
"Where is that?"
Thomas whispered:
"The place where Elena was born."
Nobody spoke.
Then another message appeared on the screen.
Not from Daniel.
Not from Alexander.
From an unknown sender.
Only six words.
SHE IS WAITING FOR YOU THERE.
Elena stared.
"Who is waiting?"
Thomas looked at her.
And for the first time...
May you like
He looked terrified.
"Your sister."
