The room felt colder after that.
Like the air itself changed.
Nobody spoke immediately.
Nobody moved either.
Ophelia just stared at Alekxander while her brain tried to process what he’d said.
“My family was involved with the Black Sun Society.”
Oh.
Oh that was bad.
That was very bad.
Cassian looked tense beside them while the guards quietly stepped further away, pretending not to listen.
Smart people honestly.
Meanwhile Ophelia felt like screaming.
Instead, she laughed softly.
Not because anything was funny.
But because her life had officially become ridiculous.
“So let me get this straight,” she said slowly.
“Your family was part of the creepy murder organization connected to my dead family… and you somehow forgot to mention that?”
Alekxander’s jaw tightened slightly.
“It’s not that simple.”
“That sentence has literally never made anything better.”
Cassian rubbed his forehead tiredly.
“She’s not wrong.”
“Thank you,” Ophelia muttered.
Alekxander looked exhausted now.
Not physically.
Emotionally.
Like he already knew this moment would happen eventually and hated every second of it.
Ophelia crossed her arms tightly.
“How involved?”
Silence.
That alone already told her enough.
“Alekxander.”
His gaze finally met hers again.
“My grandfather was one of the founders.”
The words hit hard.
Founder.
Not member.
Founder.
Ophelia stared at him blankly.
“You cannot be serious.”
“I am.”
The room suddenly felt too small.
Too warm.
Too suffocating.
Ophelia stepped away from him immediately.
Every emotion inside her twisted together painfully.
Fear.
Anger.
Confusion.
And worst of all.
Disappointment.
Because despite everything, some part of her had trusted him already.
A dangerous mistake apparently.
“You knew all this from the beginning,” she whispered.
“Yes.”
No denial.
No excuses.
Just honesty again.
Why was honesty from him always painful?
Ophelia laughed quietly under her breath.
“This is insane.”
Cassian carefully stepped forward.
“Ophelia…”
“No.” She shook her head immediately.
“No, because suddenly a lot of things are making sense and I hate all of them.”
The room stayed silent. Find the original chapter at g.com.
Alekxander looked at her carefully.
“I never lied about wanting to protect you.”
That made her chest ache even more.
Because somehow…
She believed him.
Which was the problem.
Ophelia looked away quickly before her emotions became embarrassing.
“You should’ve told me.”
Alekxander didn’t answer immediately.
Then quietly.
“I was afraid you’d look at me differently.”
The honesty in his voice caught her off guard.
Again.
Always again.
And annoyingly enough…
It worked.
Because now instead of just being angry, she felt sad too.
Terrible.
Absolutely terrible.
Before anyone could continue the conversation, Cassian suddenly frowned toward one of the shelves nearby.
“Wait.”
Everyone turned.
Cassian carefully pulled another document free from the pile.
Older than the others.
Dust covered most of it.
“What is it?” Alekxander asked.
Cassian scanned the paper quickly.
Then his expression changed immediately.
“No…”
Ophelia’s stomach dropped instantly.
That reaction never meant anything good.
“What?”
Cassian slowly looked toward Alekxander.
“There’s another name here.”
Silence.
Then quietly:
“Ashbourne.”
Ophelia blinked slowly.
“What?”
Cassian handed the paper toward Alekxander.
Ophelia moved closer instinctively to see it too.
The paper looked like some kind of old record.
Several names written beneath the Black Sun symbol.
Vale.
Ashbourne.
Evermont.
And one more name circled heavily in dark ink:
Mireille Ashbourne.
Ophelia frowned.
“Who’s that?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Then Cassian quietly said:
“She was the original Ophelia’s mother.”
The room went silent again.
Ophelia’s chest tightened painfully.
Wait.
No.
That didn’t make sense.
“She was involved too?”
Alekxander’s expression darkened slightly.
“We thought she wasn’t.”
Thought.
Another terrible word.
Cassian looked disturbed now. Find the original chapter at g.com.
“If Mireille Ashbourne was connected to the Society…”
He stopped talking halfway.
Ophelia frowned immediately.
“What?”
Cassian looked at her carefully.
Then quietly said the one thing that made her blood run cold:
“Then Ophelia may have inherited more than memories.”
The whispers exploded loudly inside her head again.
Pain shot through her skull instantly.
Ophelia gasped sharply and grabbed the nearby table.
Not now.
Please not now.
Another vision crashed into her violently.
A woman stood inside this same room years ago.
Beautiful.
Elegant.
Dark hair like Ophelia’s.
Mireille Ashbourne.
She held a young girl’s hand gently.
Young Ophelia.
Maybe six years old.
“Listen to me carefully,” Mireille whispered urgently.
Fear filled her eyes.
“If they ever discover what you can really do, you must run.”
The child looked confused.
“But father said…”
“Your father cannot protect you.”
Footsteps echoed somewhere outside the room suddenly.
Mireille’s expression changed immediately.
Panic.
She knelt in front of the little girl quickly.
“You must never let them see the full extent of your gift.”
The child nodded nervously.
Then the vision shifted violently.
Blood covered the floor.
Mireille collapsed against the wall gasping weakly.
Someone stood over her.
A man.
Face hidden again.
But this time Ophelia noticed something else.
A ring.
Black stone shaped like a sun.
The same symbol.
Mireille looked toward him weakly.
“You’ll destroy her too…”
The man crouched beside her slowly.
And finally…
He spoke.
“That was always the plan.”
The vision shattered instantly.
Ophelia nearly collapsed forward from the force of it.
Strong arms caught her immediately.
Alekxander.
Her breathing turned uneven again while pain pulsed behind her eyes.
“Ophelia.”
His voice sounded distant.
Worried.
But Ophelia barely heard him over the terrifying realization settling inside her chest.
The original Ophelia wasn’t just murdered because of what she discovered.
No.
Someone had been watching her since childhood.
Waiting.
And somehow…
Ophelia had a horrible feeling that the same people were watching her now too.