Chapter 6 - My Mother Was Alive on a Private Island, and She Told Me the One Thing My Father Never Wanted Me to Know About NoahThe island was heavily guarded.
We arrived by boat.
Noah's men surrounded the property.
I stepped inside.
“Mom?”
A woman appeared.
Older.
Gray hair.
Green eyes.
My mother's eyes.
I froze.
She whispered my childhood name.
“Birdie.”
I ran to her.
She held me.
I cried.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To protect you.”
Again.
The same words.
But now I understood.
“What happened?”
She told me.
She had been wounded.
She escaped.
The Keeper had hidden her.
That was Noah's father.
“He protected you too,” she said.
“Why?”
“Because he loved me.”
I looked at Noah.
His expression changed.
“He loved my mother.”
“Yes.”
“And you knew.”
“Yes.”
My mother looked at me.
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”
“When it was safe.”
“It never was.”
“No.”
She took my hand.
“That's why I need you to understand.”
“What?”
“Noah's father didn't betray us.”
“He protected us.”
“And Silvio?”
“He betrayed the family.”
“The Keeper?”
“Your biological father.”
I froze.
Nathan Vale was the Keeper.
My real father.
He had created the network.
Then disappeared.
Why?
Because the organization was turning against him.
My mother explained.
“He created the Circle to protect his family.”
“It became a monster.”
“He wanted to destroy it.”
“The board refused.”
“He asked Noah's father for help.”
“They worked together.”
Then Silvio betrayed them.
He wanted control.
He killed people.
He staged deaths.
He used the network.
Nathan became the Keeper.
He controlled it from the inside.
My mother helped.
My grandfather kept records.
Noah's father protected the family.
And everyone else thought they had died.
“What about me?”
“You were hidden.”
“Why?”
“Because you were the only heir.”
I touched the locket.
“The ledger.”
“Yes.”
“The trust.”
“Yes.”
“The family.”
“Yes.”
I looked at Noah.
“Are we related?”
“Yes.”
My mother smiled sadly.
“Your biological father and Noah's father were brothers.”
“So Noah is my cousin.”
“Yes.”
I looked at him.
He nodded.
That complicated everything.
Whatever feelings had existed between us were impossible.
The thought hurt more than I expected.
My mother touched my face.
“I know what you're thinking.”
I cried.
“I loved him.”
“I know.”
“You let me.”
“I didn't know.”
“Now?”
“I know.”
Noah looked at me.
“I didn't know until today.”
I stepped back.
“Then everything changes.”
“Yes.”
His voice broke.
“But I still love you.”
I stared.
“I'm your cousin.”
“I know.”
“That cannot happen.”
“I know.”
He closed his eyes.
“But I won't stop protecting you.”
I hated that he was still kind.
Then an explosion shook the island.
Men shouted.
The Circle had found us.
My mother grabbed the ledger.
“Run.”
We escaped through a tunnel.
Behind us, the house burned.
My mother turned.
“We have to reach Nathan.”
“Where?”
She gave me another coordinate.
“Chicago.”
Noah looked at me.
“Your father is waiting.”
My heart raced.
Nathan Vale.
The Keeper.
My biological father.
May you like
He had been protecting us from inside the enemy.
And now he was calling me home.
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