Chapter 12 - The Man Behind the MirrorThey didn't blindfold me.
That was the first thing I noticed.
The second was that they wanted me to see where we were going.
An underground facility.
White walls.
Steel doors.
No windows.
I heard children crying somewhere far away.
I kept my head down.
One guard pushed me into a room.
A man sat behind a glass wall.
Older.
Gray-haired.
Perfectly calm.
He looked like someone who belonged in a bank, not a hidden prison.
"Leah."
I froze.
He smiled.
"You prefer that name?"
I didn't answer.
"Lena, then."
"Who are you?"
"Someone who knew you before Vincent did."
"You're my father?"
He smiled.
"No."
I felt a strange disappointment.
"Then why am I here?"
"Because you carry something."
"The key."
"Not the key."
He leaned forward.
"The memory."
"What memory?"
"Where your mother hid the ledger."
I frowned.
"What ledger?"
"The names."
He said it casually.
"The names of everyone involved."
I understood.
The records.
"What happens if I tell you?"
"You go home."
"And Maya?"
"She goes home."
"And Luca?"
The man's smile faded.
"That depends."
I hated him immediately.
"Where is he?"
"Safe."
"You're lying."
He laughed.
"Your mother taught you well."
"My mother hates you."
"Your mother fears me."
"Why?"
"Because I know what she did."
"What did she do?"
He looked at the camera.
Then back at me.
"She didn't just steal the records."
I waited.
"She created you."
My stomach dropped.
"What?"
"You were selected."
"By who?"
"By your father."
"Vincent?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
He pressed a button.
Another screen lit up.
A photograph appeared.
A man standing beside my mother.
Not Vincent.
Not Daniel.
Someone I had never seen.
Young.
Dark hair.
Same eyes as mine.
My breath caught.
The man looked exactly like me.
The voice behind the glass said:
"His name is Adrian Voss."
"Who is he?"
"Your biological father."
I stared at the photograph.
He looked familiar.
Not because I'd met him.
Because I'd spent my entire life looking at his face without knowing it.
My mother's eyes.
My face.
His jaw.
I felt dizzy.
"Where is he?"
The man smiled.
"Very close."
The lights went out.
A door slammed.
Someone screamed.
Then gunfire.
The man behind the glass stood.
"Too late."
The room door opened.
Vincent appeared.
Blood on his shirt.
Gun in hand.
He looked at me.
"Lena."
I ran toward him.
He grabbed my shoulders.
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Where's Maya?"
"Safe."
"And Luca?"
He hesitated.
"Taken."
My heart stopped.
"By who?"
He looked toward the glass room.
The man behind it had disappeared.
Vincent whispered:
"Your biological father."
The walls shook.
A voice came over the speakers.
Vincent's voice.
But Vincent was standing in front of me.
The recording said:
"Bring Lena to the vault."
Vincent looked up.
Then at me.
"That's impossible."
"What?"
"I never said that."
We both looked at the speaker.
The message repeated.
"Bring Lena to the vault."
Then another voice joined it.
My mother's.
"Vincent, don't."
Then a third.
A man's voice.
Cold.
Calm.
"She is ready."
Vincent went pale.
I whispered:
"That's him."
"Who?"
"My father."
The speaker clicked.
And the man's voice said my name.
"Lena."
May you like
A pause.
"I've been waiting ten years."
