Thomas looks at me when he answers. "Since before you were born. Since your mother got pregnant, I wanted to go legitimate. Build something clean for our family. They made sure I couldn't, made sure I understood what leaving would cost."
The room is silent except for the ticking clock on the mantle. Tick. Tick. Tick. Each second, another revelation sinks in.
My entire life has been a lie.
Not my mother's death - that was tragically real, medical complications from premature labor. But everything was built on top of that tragedy. The story of my father's revenge. The empire he supposedly built through strength and cunning. His autonomy, his power, his choices.
All of it choreographed by someone we've never met. Someone who's been pulling strings for decades.
"Who is M?" The question comes out deadly quiet. "Give me a name."
