"What do you mean... since the day I was born?"
My question hung in the air.
The masked man merely smiled faintly, as if enjoying my confusion.
"Ask the people who've been claiming to be your parents all this time."
I instinctively turned to Dad.
"Answer me, Dad."
There was no response.
Instead, Dad lowered his head.
"Dad!"
I stepped toward him. The tears I'd been holding back finally fell.
"Tell me he's lying."
His silence was his answer.
The tightness in my chest grew worse.
"Mom..."
I turned to the woman who had raised me.
"At least tell me none of this is true."
Mom began sobbing even harder. Her body shook violently.
"Nara... forgive me."
Again.
Just those words: I'm sorry.
No explanation.
No denial.
I let out a soft laugh.
Even the sound of it seemed strange to my own ears.
"So... it's true?"
"No..." Mom answered hurriedly.
I let out a relieved breath.
But her next words shattered every last bit of hope I had.
"You really aren't our biological child."
It was as if the world stopped turning.
I stood frozen.
The sounds around me disappeared.
All that remained was a long ringing in my head.
No...
Biological child?
Then...
Who am I?
And what about Tasya?
I slowly turned toward my twin sister.
"We..."
My voice caught.
"...aren't twins?"
Tasya bit her lip until it turned pale.
"No."
I shook my head over and over.
"That's impossible."
"We were born on the same day."
"Yes."
"We were raised together."
"Yes."
"Our faces look alike, too."
"That's because of surgery."
I immediately turned to Dad.
Surgery?
He nodded slowly, his face filled with regret.
"You two were deliberately made to look as similar as possible from a young age."
My body swayed.
Luckily, Revan quickly caught my shoulder.
Don't touch me!
I slapped his hand away.
"Don't touch me!"
My sobs broke free.
"I'm sick of this!"
"All this time, you've treated me like garbage."
"And now you're telling me I'm not even your biological child?"
"Please listen to Dad's explanation," Dad said softly.
"I don't want to!"
I backed away several steps.
"You're all liars!"
"Twenty-two years..."
"For twenty-two years, you made me live a lie!"
Mom dropped to her knees on the floor.
"Nara... we were wrong."
"Wrong?"
I smiled bitterly.
"If it were just a mistake, saying you were sorry should've been enough."
"But you destroyed someone's life."
Mom's sobs grew louder.
Even both of my older brothers lowered their heads.
My oldest brother stepped closer.
"Nara..."
I raised a hand.
"Don't come any closer."
"But..."
"I'm disgusted."
Those words made his face go pale.
"You always told me to give in."
"You always told me to give everything I had to Tasya."
"You almost even gave my fiancé away."
"Was that also because I'm not your biological child?"
No one was able to answer.
Their silence was confession enough.
The masked man, who had been watching all this time, finally spoke again.
"Is the family conversation over?"
Revan immediately stood in front of me.
"Shut up."
The man laughed.
"You still want to hide the truth?"
His gaze fixed on me.
"Little girl."
"Those people never intended to make you their child."
"They were only carrying out a duty."
I frowned.
"A duty?"
"Raising you until the time came."
"That's nonsense!" Dad snapped.
The masked man didn't get angry.
Instead, he pulled a brown envelope from inside his suit.
"See for yourself."
He threw the envelope toward me.
I caught it with trembling hands.
Inside were several old photographs.
The first showed a beautiful woman holding a baby girl.
The woman was smiling with utter happiness.
For some reason...
Seeing her smile made my chest feel warm.
The second photo showed the same woman standing beside a handsome man.
They looked at the baby with deep affection.
A sentence was written on the back of the photo.
To our beloved daughter, Nara. No matter what happens, your father and mother will always find you.
My hands began trembling violently.
That name...
Nara.
It wasn't a name given to me by the Mahendra family.
It was the name I'd used since I was little.
I slowly turned to Dad.
"This..."
He closed his eyes.
"Those are your biological parents."
My tears fell again.
"Where are they?"
There was no answer.
I asked again, nearly screaming this time.
"WHERE ARE THEY?"
Dad opened his eyes with difficulty.
His gaze was filled with guilt.
"They..."
Before he could finish, the masked man cut him off in a cold voice.
"They aren't dead."
I turned immediately.
"They're still alive."
My heart began pounding wildly.
"What?"
"But..."
The man smiled faintly.
"...if you don't come with us tonight, you might never get the chance to meet them tomorrow."
Those words left everyone in the house silent.
Meanwhile, Revan clenched both fists.
As if...
He already knew that threat was more than just a bluff.