Leo was still standing in front of the old table.
His hand still held the photo he'd just taken from inside the black box. He couldn't take his eyes off it.
Raka.
Bayu.
Dimas.
And his father.
Four people he had never imagined could be connected to anything mysterious.
Leo's mind felt overwhelmed.
"Why is Dad here?"
No one answered right away.
Naya simply lowered her head.
Farel looked away.
The man who had brought Leo into the warehouse earlier just stood there watching in silence.
Leo slammed the photo down.
"I asked why my dad is in this photo!"
Leo's voice began to rise.
Farel finally stepped forward.
"Because your father used to be part of all this."
"Part of what?"
"The strategy."
Leo let out a small laugh, but there was nothing amused about his face.
"So all this time, everyone knew except me?"
"It's not that simple."
"You think it's easy for me to accept?"
Farel fell silent.
Leo walked toward them.
"You knew about Raka from the beginning. You knew about this symbol. You knew what happened. But all you gave me were pieces of the story."
Naya looked at Leo.
"We were trying to protect you."
"Protect me?"
Leo pointed at the photo in his hand.
"By making me live a lie?"
No one answered.
The silence in the warehouse grew heavier.
At last, the old man who had been silent until then spoke.
"Leo."
Leo turned.
"My name is Surya."
Leo studied him.
"You know everything?"
Surya shook his head.
"Not everything. But I know enough to understand why you're here."
"Then why me?"
Surya looked at Raka's photo.
"Because Raka chose you."
Leo fell silent.
"Chose me?"
"Yes."
"He never even told me anything."
"Because he knew that if you got involved too soon, you could become a target."
Leo tightened his grip on the photo.
"If he cared about me, why did he leave?"
The question changed the atmosphere.
Naya looked sad.
Farel lowered his head.
Surya drew a long breath.
"Because he had no choice."
Leo looked at them one by one.
"I'm tired of hearing that."
"What do you mean?"
"Everyone says Raka had no choice. Everyone says not to dig deeper. But no one will tell me what actually happened."
Leo took a step back.
"I want answers."
Farel finally spoke.
"All right."
Leo stared at him.
"Raka wasn't just an ordinary student."
"What does that mean?"
"He was good at reading situations. He could see patterns that other people didn't notice."
"And?"
"He came up with a strategy to deal with a group."
"The triangle group?"
Farel nodded.
"At first, the group was just a small game. A bunch of people who liked manipulating events from behind the scenes. But over time, they grew bigger."
Leo looked at the triangle symbol in one of the photos.
"And my dad?"
Farel was silent for several seconds.
"Your father helped Raka."
Leo was immediately stunned.
"Helped him?"
"Yes."
"Then why did Dad never tell me?"
"Because after that incident, everything changed."
Leo looked at the photo again.
"What happened?"
Farel had not had time to answer when footsteps sounded outside the warehouse.
Everyone immediately fell silent.
Surya turned off the lights.
"Don't move."
Leo was confused.
"What?"
"Quiet."
The warehouse door creaked open.
Someone entered.
His footsteps were slow.
But clearly audible.
Leo could feel everyone in the room becoming alert.
Someone had come.
And they weren't welcoming him.
Through a small crack of light, Leo saw someone's silhouette.
A guy.
Tall.
Wearing a black jacket.
Leo immediately remembered the food stall owner's story.
The guy in the black jacket.
The guy stopped in the middle of the warehouse.
"You might as well come out."
His voice was cold.
"There's no point hiding."
No one answered.
A few seconds later, Farel stepped out of his hiding place.
"Alone?"
The guy smiled.
"I don't need a lot of people to solve a problem."
Leo studied his face.
He had never seen the man before.
"You're Farel, right?"
Farel didn't answer.
"You're still following Raka's trail."
"And you're still looking for trouble."
The guy laughed.
"Trouble? Interesting. Even though the first person to cause trouble was Leo's older brother."
Leo immediately focused on him.
"You know my name?"
The guy looked toward Leo.
"I've known it for a long time."
Leo stepped forward.
"Who the hell are you?"
The guy smiled.
"My name is Damar."
Leo remembered the name.
Damar.
There was something about his gaze that made Leo uncomfortable.
"Is Damar part of that group?" Leo asked.
No one answered.
But their silence was answer enough.
Damar walked closer.
"Leo, I have an offer for you."
"I'm not interested."
"You haven't even heard it yet."
"Anything involving you people, I'm not interested."
Damar smiled.
"Stubborn. Just like Raka."
Leo clenched his fists.
"Don't drag my brother into this."
"Why? Because you're afraid to learn the truth?"
Leo fell silent.
Damar pulled an envelope from his jacket.
He placed it on the table.
"There's something Raka hid inside."
Everyone's eyes immediately turned toward the envelope.
Leo looked at it.
"Why give it to me?"
"Because you're the person he chose."
"Or because you want to set me up?"
Damar smiled.
"Good. At least you're thinking."
He walked toward the door.
"But remember one thing."
Leo looked at him.
"The best strategy isn't always about making you win."
Damar paused briefly.
"Sometimes the best strategy is making your enemy think you've lost."
Then he left.
The warehouse fell silent again.
Leo picked up the envelope.
"Don't open it yet."
Naya's voice made Leo stop.
"Why?"
"Because once you know what's inside, you won't be able to go back to the way things were."
Leo stared at the envelope in his hand.
All this time, he had been searching for answers.
Now the answer was right in front of him.
But strangely, he was actually afraid to open it.
"If I don't open it, I still won't know anything."
Naya said nothing.
Leo slowly opened the envelope.
Inside was a single sheet of paper.
Handwritten.
Handwriting he knew very well.
Raka's handwriting.
Leo began to read.
Leo, if you're reading this letter, it means the first plan failed.
Leo's breath caught.
Don't trust anyone who says they want to protect you. Not even the people closest to you.
Leo's hand began to tremble.
He continued reading.
Including Dad.
Leo stopped immediately.
His eyes widened.
Everyone saw the change in his expression.
"Why?"
asked Rian, who suddenly appeared at the warehouse door.
Everyone was startled.
"Rian?"
Leo immediately looked toward him.
"What are you doing here?"
Rian looked confused.
"I should be asking you that. You disappeared this afternoon. I followed your motorcycle."
Leo was silent.
Rian looked at everyone inside the warehouse.
"Lew, what's actually going on?"
Leo didn't answer.
Because for the first time, he realized something.
This wasn't about finding out who was at fault anymore.
It was about finding out who he could still trust.