Vedat entered Alpay's room with tired steps.The air, despite the early morning, felt heavy; something inside him told him that change was near. His eyes caught sight of the desk. A sheet of pristine white paper lay there, its surface broken by familiar handwriting that had been hastily scribbled across it.
Vedat stepped closer and picked up the paper. As his eyes moved across the lines, his breath tightened:
"You were right, father.I am someone different. Maybe like my uncle, maybe like someone else… but I am not this. For years, you told me about the honor of serving. You spoke of kneeling, staying silent, and loyalty as virtues. I believed you. But I overheard your conversation with Mr. Tarık.Your words… your position… no longer match what you preached.You glorified servitude, yet now you play another game in the master's shadow. That, to me, is betrayal.Betrayal to yourself, to me, and to our past.Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe time will prove you right.But I've decided to break this chain.My uncle's path… is now my path.Forgive me."
Vedat's hands trembled. Two tears fell onto the letter. He collapsed into a chair, holding his head in both hands. A whisper, soft as wind through leaves, escaped from his lips:
"I failed, father… I couldn't do it… I couldn't be like you. I couldn't stop him from becoming like his uncle."
He loosened his tie, exhaling deeply as if searching for air. Wiping his tears, the emptiness struck him—he had no one left.He exited Alpay's room and called for one of the house staff:
"Move Alpay's things to my room. Clean and lock this room."
He threw the tie in the trash. Then he went straight to Tarık Bey's room.
"We'll need to hire someone new for the estate."
"Why? We have enough staff. Your boy can handle it."
"There's no boy anymore, Tarık. The child is gone."
"Gone how?"
Just then, Alara walked in, having overheard part of the conversation.
"What do you mean, gone? He just started working with me."
"Vedat Bey will explain, Ms. Alara."
"He's become like his uncle. He chose to question instead of serve. I always saw it coming… Every time he said, 'My blood doesn't decide my destiny,' I saw his uncle in him. Now, it's happened. He left a letter and walked away. Took nothing with him."
"Oh, Kara… dark, always dark. Still influencing minds from the grave. Just like before."
Alara wiped the sadness from her eyes.
"If you could avoid assigning me new staff, I'd appreciate it. Apparently, they can't tolerate me and keep leaving."
She left the room, trying to look indifferent. But the truth was, since she had arrived, Alpay was her only friend. The one who would sneak out at night, talk with her under the moonlight. Now, there was no one left to share that escape.She entered her room and stepped onto the balcony. Opening her laptop, she decided to finish the task she had left incomplete.
"Maybe I'll get used to this country," she thought.
She had planned to help her uncle with some charitable work, but it hadn't worked out. Tarık and Vedat claimed he was in Portugal. She couldn't reach him anyway.
But then, her uncle messaged:
"Can't talk now, sweet girl. If it's important, say it here."
She told him she wanted to start a health foundation. He had postponed the idea, not accepting it yet.
"We'll talk when I return," he had replied.
Alara felt restricted. She now understood what Alpay had meant.
"Who would believe the words of a servant?" she thought.
Even so, she tried calling him."He may have left, but he surely took his phone," she reasoned.
It rang. She heard it nearby.Down in the garden, next to the wall, she spotted the phone. Maybe he dropped it. She picked it up.The screen lit up—a message: "Little Miss."She smiled.
"Even when you're not here… you still make me smile."
She walked toward Vedat and Tarık's room. Through the crack in the door, she overheard:
"I told you your son might be trouble, Vedat. He's on the verge of rebellion."
"What do you want me to do, Tarık? Order them to shoot my own son? He's my only child."
"No one said shoot. We said 'redirect' him."
"I even sent him to the master's niece, hoping he'd stay close, maybe become friends…"
"Sure, Vedat. Let's marry them next. Make him the next master."
"Fine, Tarık. Let's notify the men. Issue a capture order. Even inform the Circle's men. They'll find him."
"We'll handle it. But he won't be returned here. You know that, right?"
"I know. He'll suffer his uncle's fate."
Tarık picked up the phone:
"I'll send a photo. Find him."
Alara gasped silently.
"What are they planning for Alpay?"
She burst into the room.
"If I am the master's niece, and I have any say in this household, then Alpay will be found and returned here unharmed."
She continued:
"He's your son! How could you let them harm him? If you don't want me to tell my uncle, you'll bring him back safe."
She stormed out. She knew they'd misinterpret her anger, but she didn't care. Her goal was clear: to protect a life.Was her family always this cruel? When did they become so violent?
Meanwhile, Vedat and Tarık changed clothes and got into a car. Two vehicles followed behind. After thirty minutes, they reached the docks. A black VIP car waited. A suited man stepped out.
"The System is grateful for your actions."
"The System is always grateful. We know that."
"Don't forget, Mr. Tarık, without the System, the masters wouldn't exist today. This is all for the next generation of masters."
Vedat inspected the crates of money and weapons.
"Who is this all for?"
"The System doesn't like questions—but for you, Vedat, I'll answer. These are for the new System soldiers. Food, shelter, training… maybe one day they'll become your bodyguards."
After handing over the materials, Vedat and Tarık left.The suited man picked up his phone and called Karahan:
"Sir, as expected, Mr. Vedat has taken on a different role in the System. But… he doesn't know yet that his son is with us."