"Is that what you wanted to tell me?"
A couple of minutes later, Lia asked.
"No…
You know that I went out to meet someone, right?"
"Yes. You told me she was like a mo—"
She stopped mid-sentence.
"…Ah."
The pieces finally fell into place.
Her brother would occasionally go out to meet a woman.
A woman she didn't know.
Seraphina.
That was her name.
At first, Lia had been suspicious—worried that he might like her, but then he told her that he saw her as a mother figure.
It was still odd, still unsettling—but she hadn't questioned him.
Now she understood.
But now she understood.
"She is your mother." Lia said softly.
Lucian nodded.
Then he told her the rest.
That he remembered everything.
His past.
His childhood.
All of it.
Lia was surprised—but not as much as she thought she should be.
She had noticed things over time. The way he talked in his sleep. The way certain words or places made him distant.
She had suspected something… but never pushed him.
Her brother was becoming self-reliant–independent.
She was happy about it.
But at the same time, sad since he might stop relying on her.
Lucian told her everything.
By the time he finished, they had already reached home.
The car was silent
Lia sat frozen in her seat, her hands clutching tightly in her lap.
Lucian parked the car and didn't rush her.
He simply sat there beside her, giving her the time to process everything.
A few minutes passed.
Then she looked at him.
Carefully.
As if he were something fragile.
She had known that he was abused.
But not like this.
It wasn't just about the physical torture.
She couldn't even believe that his father was Damian Cross, one of the most influential men in the country.
Her eyes burned.
"I–I didn't k–know…" Her voice trembled.
"I didn't know you suffered this much."
Lucian sighed.
FLICK.
She yelped, immediately covering her forehead and staring at him in disbelief.
"Why did you hit me?!"
"Don't look at me like that." He said calmly.
"It all happened years ago. I am not the same kid anymore."
She froze.
Then slowly nodded.
Right.
Her brother hated being pitied. He hated sympathy that treated him like he was broken.
'Idiot.' She cursed him for being so stubborn.
After a while, they got out of the car and entered the house.
In the living room, a woman sat quietly on the couch, blankly staring at the television that wasn't even on.
Hearing the footsteps, she turned.
When her eyes landed on Lucian, her face softened into a gentle smile.
Then she looked at Lia.
Lia stiffened.
'That's… his mother?'
The woman looked like she was in her forties—but it was hard to believe. Her beauty was understated yet overwhelming. The way she carried herself, the way she sat, the way she rose—
Everything about her screamed quiet nobility.
Seraphina stood slowly.
"You must be Lia."
Her voice was soft.
Lia straightened instinctively, suddenly feeling like a child being evaluated by someone far above her.
"I'm Lia," she said quickly. "His sister."
"Lucian talks about you a lot," Seraphina replied gently.
Lia blinked.
"…Oh."
Before she realised it, a smile crept onto her face.
Lucian noticed—and smiled faintly as well.
They talked for a while after that.
Lucian introduced his mother to Lia.
Lucian formally introduced Seraphina to Lia, though it felt unnecessary. Lia quickly learned that her brother had spoken about her more than anyone else during his visits to the facility.
Hearing about how Seraphina had lived there shocked her.
She couldn't understand how someone could endure that… and still remain sane.
What Lia didn't know—
was that there wasn't a single sane person among them.
Talking to Seraphina stirred memories she hadn't touched in years.
'If my mother were still here…'
Lia unconsciously touched the ring on her finger.
A simple, plain ring.
The one her mother had given her.