Arelio stood frozen when he saw the person appearing in front of Damar's house.
For several seconds, his mind stopped working.
He couldn't believe what he was seeing.
"No way..."
The person slowly stepped inside.
Their face looked calm, but their eyes held so much that couldn't be explained.
Raka, standing beside Arelio, also looked shocked.
"Bro..."
Arelio didn't answer.
Because the person standing before him was someone he had never imagined would be involved in all these secrets.
His mother.
Laras.
"Mom?"
Laras looked at her son sadly.
"Arelio..."
The sound of her voice only left Arelio more confused.
"What are you doing here, Mom?"
There was no answer.
Bastian stepped back a few paces, giving them room to talk.
Arelio looked at his mother, then at Bastian.
"You all knew about this chest?"
Laras lowered her head.
"There are a lot of things I haven't told you."
"Why?"
The question came out in a disappointed tone.
"Why does everyone know something about Dad, while I've never been told anything?"
Laras looked like she was holding something back.
"Because I wanted you to live a normal life."
Arelio let out a small laugh.
"Normal?"
He pointed to the letters in his hand.
"Ever since I found this chest, my life hasn't been normal anymore."
Laras looked at the letters.
"You've opened everything?"
"Yeah."
"Including the last part?"
Arelio fell silent.
"Yeah."
Laras's expression changed.
"Then you've read your father's warning."
Arelio immediately looked at his mother.
"So you knew?"
Laras didn't answer.
And that was answer enough.
Arelio slowly shook his head.
"I don't understand. Why does everyone keep hiding secrets from me?"
Laras stepped closer.
"I'm sorry."
"But sorry doesn't answer anything."
Those words made Laras stop.
Arelio wasn't angry because the secrets existed.
He was angry because everyone had chosen to stay silent all this time.
He had lost his father without ever knowing the real story.
He had grown up with so many questions.
And now that the answers were beginning to emerge, everything felt even more complicated.
Bastian finally spoke.
"It's time he knew."
Damar, who hadn't been visible before, suddenly appeared from the back room.
Arelio immediately turned.
"Damar?"
The old man looked tired.
"You found the letters."
Arelio looked at him.
"Yeah."
"And you know what Arman wrote."
"Yeah."
Damar gave a small nod.
"Your father really did write that."
Arelio clenched his fists.
"So it's true? I can't trust you?"
Damar fell silent.
"I want to explain."
"Explain it now."
The room fell silent.
Damar pulled out a chair and sat down.
"Arelio, your father and I really did find something inside that chest."
"What?"
"A document about our family."
"What kind of document?"
Damar looked at Laras and Bastian.
"You need to know that something happened a long time ago that changed many people's relationships."
Arelio waited.
"Arman found evidence that someone close to your family was hiding a huge secret."
"Who was it?"
Damar didn't answer right away.
Arelio began to grow irritated.
"Don't tell me you don't know either."
"I know."
"Then?"
Damar looked toward Laras.
Arelio followed his gaze.
And in an instant, the atmosphere changed.
"Mom?"
Laras closed her eyes for a moment.
"Arelio, listen first."
"Is the secret about you, Mom?"
No one answered.
But this time, their silence felt different.
Like a confession.
Arelio took several steps back.
"I don't believe this."
Laras quickly moved closer.
"It's not what you think."
"Then what is it?"
Laras looked sad.
"There's a reason your father never talked about everything."
"Because of you?"
"No."
Laras shook her head.
"Because he wanted to protect you too."
Arelio fell silent.
"Protect you from whom?"
Before Laras could answer, Bastian suddenly pulled a folder from his bag.
"This is why Arman hid the chest."
He placed the folder on the table.
Arelio looked at it.
"What is that?"
"The last evidence your father left behind."
Arelio opened the folder.
Inside were several documents and a photograph.
The photograph shocked him.
It showed his father with someone he knew very well.
Someone who had always been considered part of the family.
Arelio stared at the photograph for a long time.
"Why is this person with Dad?"
Laras immediately went pale.
Because the photograph revealed a truth she had never wanted to disclose.
Arelio raised his head.
"Who is this person, really?"
Damar looked at him seriously.
"The person who started all of this."
Arelio looked back at the photograph.
And for the first time, he realized it.
The old chest wasn't only hiding secrets about his father.
It was hiding secrets about his entire family.