The night wind slipped through the broken window of the house, bringing a cold chill that made the room feel even emptier.
Red and blue lights from police cars still flashed outside, reflecting off the walls covered in bullet holes. Several officers moved in and out, checking every corner of the place.
Yet amidst all the chaos, one sentence still hung in the air.
They came to kill you.
Ethan stood still for several seconds.
His gaze was empty, but his mind was racing.
Daniel was the first to break the silence.
"Are you sure about what you heard?" he asked the officer.
The officer nodded.
"Yes. One of the detainees said it before being taken away."
Victor Hale looked as if all the color had drained from his face.
"No… that can't be…"
Leonard Graves stood with his hands in his coat pockets, staring at Ethan with an unreadable expression.
"Interesting," he murmured.
Daniel turned quickly.
"Interesting?"
Leonard shrugged lightly.
"Doesn't it explain a lot of things?"
Ethan finally spoke.
"Like what?"
Leonard glanced out the window for a moment before answering.
"If their target was Victor, they would have come more quietly."
He continued,
"But they came with a fully armed team."
Daniel began to understand.
"They thought Ethan was here."
Leonard nodded.
"Exactly."
Victor looked at Ethan anxiously.
"Why would they want to kill you?"
Ethan did not answer.
But Daniel spoke first.
"Because Ethan is too close to the truth."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"You learn quickly."
A few seconds later, an officer approached.
"Sir, we've secured two detainees. They'll be taken to headquarters for interrogation."
Leonard nodded.
"Good."
The officer then left again.
Daniel turned to Leonard.
"Will you talk to them?"
Leonard replied casually,
"Of course."
Ethan cut in,
"I'm coming too."
Leonard looked at him.
"Are you sure?"
Ethan said firmly,
"I want to hear for myself who sent them."
Victor immediately grew uneasy.
"That's too dangerous."
Daniel also looked hesitant.
"If this is a war with Helix, they might be planning something bigger."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"You're too pessimistic."
He looked at Ethan.
"But if you want to come along, I don't mind."
Ethan nodded.
"Good."
Leonard then said,
"But before that, there's something you need to know."
Daniel crossed his arms.
"What now?"
Leonard walked slowly to the table where Daniel's laptop was still on.
The screen still displayed old footage of Elena Ward.
The woman stood in a laboratory, speaking in a tense voice about the Helios project.
Leonard stared at the screen for quite a while.
"A brave woman," he said softly.
Victor bowed his head.
"She knew what would happen if she refused them."
Ethan looked at Leonard.
"You almost said who ordered the killing."
Leonard nodded.
"That's right."
Daniel said,
"We're still waiting for the answer."
Leonard was silent for a few seconds.
As if weighing something.
Then he spoke softly,
"The person who ordered Elena Ward's death…"
he paused for a moment.
"…was not Marcus Sterling."
The room fell silent at once.
Daniel frowned.
"If not him, then who?"
Leonard looked at Ethan.
"Marcus was only following orders."
Victor whispered softly,
"I told you…"
Ethan said coldly,
"The name."
Leonard walked a few steps closer to Ethan.
But before he could speak.
another officer rushed in.
"Sir!"
Leonard turned.
"What now?"
The officer looked flustered.
"We just received a report from headquarters."
Daniel asked,
"What report?"
The officer said,
"One of the detainees… he's dead."
Ethan tensed immediately.
"How?"
The officer swallowed.
"He bit down on a poison capsule hidden in his tooth."
Daniel muttered softly,
"Damn."
Leonard did not look surprised.
"As I expected."
Ethan asked,
"And the other detainee?"
The officer shook his head.
"He refuses to talk."
Leonard said calmly,
"It doesn't matter."
Daniel looked at him.
"It doesn't matter?"
Leonard smiled slightly.
"Because we don't need them anymore."
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
Leonard looked at Victor Hale.
"Because Victor already knows the answer."
All eyes immediately turned to the man.
Victor looked like he wanted to disappear.
"No…"
Ethan stepped closer.
"Victor."
The man shook his head quickly.
"I can't…"
Daniel said sharply,
"You're too deep in this to back out now."
Victor looked at each of them one by one.
His face was full of fear.
"If I say the name… they'll kill me."
Leonard said softly,
"They already tried to kill you tonight."
Victor was silent.
Ethan spoke in a lower voice,
"And if you don't talk, they'll keep trying."
A few seconds passed.
Victor finally let out a long breath.
His hands were shaking.
"Alright…"
Daniel held his breath.
Ethan stood still in front of him.
Victor slowly lifted his head.
"I saw him that night…"
he said in a voice barely above a whisper.
"In Elena Ward's laboratory."
Leonard stared at him sharply.
"Who?"
Victor closed his eyes for a moment before finally saying,
"He came with Marcus Sterling."
Daniel tensed immediately.
Ethan said softly,
"Continue."
Victor opened his eyes.
Fear was clearly visible on his face.
"Marcus wasn't the one in charge."
He swallowed.
"He just stood beside him… like a subordinate."
The room grew very quiet.
Daniel said softly,
"Then who gave the orders?"
Victor looked at Ethan.
His gaze was full of terror.
Then he finally spoke one name.
A name that made Ethan's blood feel like it was freezing.
"That person…"
Victor whispered.
"…was your father."
The room seemed to stop moving.
Daniel looked at Ethan in shock.
"Ethan…"
But Ethan did not move.
His gaze was empty.
Leonard Graves watched the reaction calmly.
Then he said softly,
"Welcome to the real truth."
A few seconds after the name was spoken, no one moved.
Time seemed to stop.
Ethan stood like a statue.
Daniel was the first to react.
"That doesn't make sense," he said softly, but his voice was tense.
Victor immediately shook his head quickly.
"I'm not lying… I saw it myself."
Leonard Graves said nothing. He just watched Ethan carefully, like a scientist waiting for an experiment's result.
Finally, Ethan spoke.
But his voice sounded different.
Lower.
Colder.
"You want me to believe my father ordered Elena Ward's murder?"
Victor swallowed.
"I don't know the whole story… but he was there that night."
Daniel frowned.
"Marcus Sterling stood like a subordinate?"
Victor nodded slowly.
"Yes."
The room fell silent again.
Daniel looked at Ethan doubtfully.
"We can't just believe this."
Leonard finally spoke.
"Why not?"
Daniel turned sharply.
"Because this is too convenient."
Leonard smiled slightly.
"Interesting."
Daniel continued,
"If someone wants to destroy Ethan, what's the best way?"
He pointed at Victor.
"Make him believe his own father is the enemy."
Victor immediately defended himself.
"I'm not lying!"
Leonard raised his hand.
"Calm down."
He walked slowly toward Ethan.
"Daniel is right about one thing."
He stopped just in front of Ethan.
"This story is too big to accept so easily."
Ethan still did not move.
But his eyes now looked alive again.
"Victor."
The man looked at him nervously.
"What did you really see that night?"
Victor took a long breath.
"Elena's laboratory was almost empty. Everyone had gone home because of an internal audit."
He continued with a shaking voice.
"I went back to get some documents… then I saw two cars arrive."
Daniel listened intently.
Victor said,
"One of the cars belonged to Marcus Sterling."
Ethan narrowed his eyes.
"And the other car?"
Victor looked hesitant.
"I didn't see it clearly… but when they entered the laboratory…"
He paused for a moment.
"Marcus opened the door for him."
Daniel raised an eyebrow.
"Like a chauffeur opening the door for his boss."
Victor nodded.
"Yes."
Leonard said softly,
"Then what?"
Victor stared at the floor.
"I hid in the server room."
He wiped his face with a trembling hand.
"I heard them talking to Elena."
Ethan said,
"Tell us everything."
Victor closed his eyes for a moment.
"Marcus said Elena had gone too far."
Daniel murmured,
"That makes sense."
Victor continued,
"But the other man was the one who made the final decision."
Leonard asked,
"What did he say?"
Victor opened his eyes.
His gaze was empty.
"He said… the Helios project was more important than one life."
Daniel let out a long breath.
"And Elena refused to back down."
Victor nodded.
"She said she would expose everything."
Ethan stood even more tense.
Victor looked at him.
"After that…"
his voice weakened.
"…I heard gunshots."
No one spoke for several seconds.
Only the sound of the night wind coming through the broken window.
Daniel finally said,
"There's still one problem."
Leonard turned.
"Yes?"
Daniel stared sharply at Victor.
"If you really saw all that… why are you still alive?"
Victor looked as if he had been struck by the question.
"I… I don't know."
Leonard laughed softly.
"Good question."
He stared sharply at Victor.
"Helix doesn't usually leave witnesses alive."
Victor shook his head frantically.
"I really don't know!"
Ethan finally moved.
He walked slowly toward the broken window.
The police lights still flashed outside.
But his thoughts were far from there.
If Victor's story was true…
then his entire life had been a lie.
His father.
The man he had always respected.
The man who built their family's reputation.
Could have been the one who started all of this.
Daniel walked closer.
"We have to verify this story."
Ethan did not answer.
Leonard Graves instead spoke in a casual tone,
"Oh, we definitely will."
Daniel turned to him.
"How?"
Leonard smiled slightly.
"Because if Victor is telling the truth…"
he paused for a moment.
"…then the person you're looking for is no longer just Marcus Sterling."
Ethan finally turned back around.
His gaze was sharper than before.
Leonard looked at him calmly.
"This is a family war now."
The night wind blew again through the broken window.
But this time, the atmosphere felt different.
Ethan began to question who the real enemy was.