LOGINThe door opened slowly.Amelia held her breath.A woman stepped into the light.For a moment, Amelia couldn't move.She had imagined this moment countless times.She had imagined seeing her mother again.She had imagined anger.Tears.Questions.But she had never imagined standing between both of her parents at the same time.The woman looked older than the photographs Amelia had seen.Her dark hair was streaked with silver.Her face was thinner.But there was no mistaking her.Amelia knew her.Even after twenty-two years.Even though the face had only existed in old photographs and childhood memories."Mum."The woman stopped.Her eyes filled with tears."Amelia."Amelia's entire body trembled.She took one step forward.Then stopped.Alexander immediately moved closer."Don't."The woman looked at him."You still think you can control her?""Stay away from my daughter."Amelia's heart pounded.Her gaze moved between them."Both of you stop."They fell silent.She looked at her mothe
The words remained suspended in the air.> The girl you raised is not the girl I gave you.Amelia stared at the radio."No."The word came out quietly.Then again."No."Damian immediately moved toward her."Amelia."She took a step backward."That doesn't make sense."Daniel looked at the photograph in his hand."Maybe it does."Amelia turned sharply toward him."Don't.""I haven't said anything.""But you're thinking it."Daniel remained silent.Amelia's eyes filled with anger."I am not some mystery for you to solve.""No."His voice was quiet."But someone changed your identity."Her breath caught.Damian stepped between them."Enough."Daniel looked at him."She deserves to know.""Then we find out the truth properly."---Bennett's voice came through the radio again."Amelia, listen to me carefully."She grabbed the device."What?""The letter was not written in the same handwriting as the other documents."Amelia frowned."What do you mean?""The writing is your mother's.""But
The phone continued ringing.Once.Twice.Three times.The sound echoed through the Archive.Amelia stared at it."How long has that phone been here?"Daniel didn't answer."Daniel."His gaze remained fixed on the old black telephone."Twenty-two years."Amelia's heart skipped."It has been ringing for twenty-two years?""No."He looked at her."It stopped ringing after your mother disappeared."Eleanor's face had gone pale."Then why is it ringing now?"Daniel slowly shook his head."I don't know."The phone rang again.Amelia took another step toward it.Damian immediately caught her wrist."Don't."She looked at him."What if it's my mother?""Amelia, your mother disappeared twenty-two years ago.""So did Eleanor."Eleanor flinched."And Daniel was supposed to be dead."Amelia looked at the phone."Then I don't think we should assume anything is impossible."---The phone rang again.Daniel moved toward it.Amelia's voice stopped him."Wait."He turned.She looked at the old teleph
For several seconds, no one moved.Daniel sat calmly in the center of the Archive.He looked nothing like the monster Amelia had imagined.He was older than she expected.Perhaps in his late forties.His dark hair was touched with grey, and a thin scar ran from his left temple toward his cheek.But it was his eyes that held everyone's attention.They were calm.Almost gentle.That made him more frightening.Eleanor took a step backward."No."Daniel looked at her."Hello, Eleanor."Her face went pale."You were supposed to be dead."Daniel smiled faintly."So were you."---Damian immediately stepped in front of Amelia.Daniel's gaze shifted to him."Damian Vale.""You know who I am.""I know who everyone in this room is."Nathan raised his weapon."Hands where we can see them."Daniel looked at the gun.Then laughed quietly."If I wanted you dead, you wouldn't have made it through the door.""Don't test me."Daniel leaned back in the chair."Nathan."Nathan's expression changed."How
The darkness lasted only a few seconds.Then the emergency lights flickered on.Eleanor stood beneath the dim red glow, her face wet with tears.Amelia stared at her."What did you do to Samuel?"Eleanor didn't answer.Damian immediately stepped closer to Amelia.Bennett turned toward Eleanor."You heard him.""What did you do?"Eleanor looked at the black screen."I didn't kill him.""That wasn't my question."She closed her eyes."I betrayed him."---The words settled over the ruins.Nathan frowned."How?"Eleanor slowly turned toward them."Samuel trusted me with the Archive.""More than anyone.""He trusted me with the names.""The locations.""The evidence.""And when Daniel began taking control..."Her voice cracked."I told him."Bennett's expression hardened."You gave Daniel access to the Archive.""I thought I was protecting Samuel."Eleanor looked down."Daniel had already become dangerous.""He had people watching Samuel.""Following him.""Threatening him.""I thought if
For several seconds, no one spoke.The estate remained dark.Only the emergency lights cast a faint glow across the hallway.Bennett stared at Eleanor."Where did Samuel find Daniel?"Eleanor's expression tightened."An old children's shelter."Nathan frowned."Where?""It was demolished years ago.""That doesn't answer the question."Eleanor looked toward the western grounds."Because the shelter was built on land that once belonged to Samuel."Damian's eyes narrowed."You're saying Daniel was found on Ashcroft property?""No."Eleanor shook her head."He was found in the city.""Near the old Saint Mary's Children's Home."Bennett immediately turned to Nathan."Find the records."Nathan pulled out his phone."Already doing it."He typed quickly.A few seconds later, his expression changed."Saint Mary's Children's Home closed twenty-two years ago.""After a fire."Eleanor's face became pale."That wasn't an accident."Bennett stared at her."What happened?"Eleanor looked down."The
The moment Amelia signed the papers, the ballroom erupted into whispers.Some people pitied her.Most enjoyed the spectacle.After all, scandals involving powerful families were entertainment for the rich.Amelia could practically feel their eyes burning into her skin as she placed the pen down car
The crystal chandeliers of the Grand Orion Hotel glowed above the crowd, casting gold across silk gowns and tailored suits. Laughter echoed through the ballroom, champagne glasses clinked softly, and cameras flashed toward the stage where the powerful elites of the city gathered.At the center of i
“Amelia!”The sound of Damian’s voice echoed through the apartment with a panic nobody had ever heard from him before.Sophie gasped.Nathan froze.And Adrian immediately lifted Amelia into his arms as her body went limp against him.“Move.”His calm tone cut sharply through the chaos.Years of med
The words slammed into Damian like a physical blow.“Don’t touch her.”For a second, nobody moved.Amelia’s body trembled weakly in Adrian’s arms, her face pale enough to terrify everyone in the room.“Move aside,” Damian said coldly.Adrian ignored him completely.“Get water,” he told Sophie calml







