Chapter 9: The Daughter Clara Feared
Chapter 9: The Daughter Clara Feared
The words did not sound real.
They were too cruel.
Too impossible.
Your mother was afraid of you.
Lena stood completely still.
For a moment, she forgot the danger around her.
Forgot Victor.
Forgot the armed people somewhere inside the building.
All she could hear was that sentence.
Her mother.
The woman who sang while cooking.
The woman who held her when storms shook the windows.
The woman whose last memories Lena carried like treasures.
Afraid of her.
“No.”
The word escaped quietly.
Victor watched her carefully.
“Ask them.”
Nobody answered.
That silence hurt more than Victor’s accusation.
Lena looked at Daniel.
Her father.
The man who had returned after fifteen years.
“Is it true?”
Daniel looked away.
That was enough.
Her eyes moved to Adrian.
“Is it?”
Adrian didn’t speak.
And suddenly Lena felt like she was back in the ballroom.
On the cold marble floor.
Surrounded by people who knew something she didn’t.
Everyone protecting the truth from her.
Everyone deciding what she could handle.
Her voice became smaller.
“You knew.”
Adrian’s expression changed.
“Lena…”
“You knew there was something about me.”
“No.”
“You knew something was wrong.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“I knew there was a secret. I didn’t know this.”
But she had already heard enough.
Because when someone spends their entire life surrounded by lies, even the smallest silence becomes a betrayal.
Victor smiled.
“See?”
He walked slowly into the room.
“Even now they protect you from yourself.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You’re the reason she suffered.”
Victor laughed.
“No.”
His eyes moved toward Lena.
“You are looking at the wrong enemy.”
Lena stared at him.
“What do you mean?”
Victor reached into his coat.
Everyone immediately tensed.
But he only pulled out an old photograph.
He threw it onto the table.
Lena looked down.
Her breathing stopped.
The picture showed Clara.
Her mother.
Standing in a laboratory.
Beside a machine.
And next to her...
Was Lena.
But she was not a baby.
She looked about five years old.
Connected to medical equipment.
Her eyes were closed.
“What is this?”
Nobody answered.
Daniel looked devastated.
Adrian looked confused.
Marcus looked away.
Victor spoke.
“That was the first Helios activation test.”
Lena stared at him.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“I was five.”
Victor nodded.
“Your mother discovered something.”
He pointed at the photograph.
“Helios was not activated by a password.”
A pause.
“It was activated by a biological connection.”
Lena touched her necklace.
“My DNA.”
Victor nodded.
“Your DNA.”
The room became silent.
“You were not the key because Clara chose you.”
Victor’s voice became colder.
“You were the key because Clara created you for it.”
The words felt like a punch.
Lena stepped backward.
“No.”
Daniel immediately reacted.
“Don’t listen to him.”
But Lena turned.
“Then tell me he’s lying.”
Daniel opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
That was enough.
The truth was finally coming out.
And it was uglier than anyone expected.
Daniel looked at Lena.
“Your mother never created you for that purpose.”
“Then why?”
He closed his eyes.
“Because of an accident.”
“A what?”
“When Clara and I were developing Helios, we discovered something.”
Daniel sat down slowly.
“The system could only connect with certain biological patterns.”
Lena listened.
“Most people rejected it.”
“And me?”
Daniel looked at her.
“You didn’t.”
The room was silent.
“You were born with a rare genetic trait.”
Lena felt cold.
“I’m not normal.”
Daniel immediately shook his head.
“No.”
His voice became emotional.
“You are not a machine. You are not an experiment.”
“Then why did everyone treat me like one?”
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew.
They had all made choices around her.
Even if they were made from love.
Even if they were made from fear.
They had forgotten she was a person.
Victor smiled.
“And now you understand.”
Adrian looked at him.
“You’re twisting the truth.”
“Am I?”
Victor looked at Lena.
“Your mother spent years hiding you because she knew what would happen if people discovered your ability.”
“What ability?”
Victor leaned closer.
“The ability to control Helios.”
Suddenly, a gunshot exploded.
Everyone dropped.
The bullet hit the wall beside Victor.
Adrian immediately pulled Lena down.
Security rushed in.
Another shot.
Then another.
The attackers had entered the upper floor.
Victor looked annoyed.
“Already?”
Marcus looked at him.
“You brought them?”
Victor smiled.
“No.”
He looked toward the hallway.
“They followed me.”
Adrian’s eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Victor didn’t answer.
Then a familiar voice came from the darkness.
“Me.”
Everyone turned.
A woman stepped forward.
Older.
Elegant.
Calm.
Helena Voss.
The woman from the screen.
But she was not alone.
Behind her were armed men.
She looked at Lena.
“I’m sorry it had to happen this way.”
Lena stared.
“You said my mother was your friend.”
“She was.”
“Then why are you doing this?”
Helena looked at Adrian.
Daniel.
Marcus.
Then finally Lena.
“Because your mother made the same mistake everyone here made.”
“What mistake?”
Helena walked closer.
“She thought she could protect you by hiding the truth.”
A pause.
“She forgot that one day you would need to choose.”
Lena frowned.
“Choose what?”
Helena smiled.
“Whether you want to save the world…”
Her eyes moved to the necklace.
“Or destroy it.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“She is not going anywhere.”
Helena looked amused.
“You still don’t understand.”
She lifted a small device.
A screen appeared.
Showing a countdown.
10:00
Lena froze.
“What is that?”
Helena answered calmly:
“The backup system for Helios.”
Daniel’s face went pale.
“No.”
“Yes.”
The countdown continued.
09:59.
Helena looked at Lena.
“Your mother created a final security measure.”
“What security measure?”
Helena smiled.
“If you are not connected to Helios within ten minutes…”
A pause.
“The entire system will activate itself.”
Adrian looked alarmed.
“What happens then?”
Helena looked at him.
“The world changes.”
Silence.
“And nobody will be able to stop it.”
The countdown continued.
09:45.
Lena looked around.
Everyone was afraid.
For the first time, she realized something.
They were not afraid because she was dangerous.
They were afraid because they knew she had the power to decide.
Her entire life, people had chosen for her.
May you like
Now the choice belonged to her.
And she had ten minutes to decide the fate of everything.
