The message stayed on the screen.
YOU WERE NEVER LOOKING FOR THE ENEMY.
Ava stared at the words.
Then in the picture.
Alexander Laurent.
The man who returned from the dead.
The man who claimed he spent years protecting his family.
The man who told them to trust the truth.
Now...
Someone was telling them he was the reason they were in danger.
"That’s not possible."
Damien's voice was quiet.
But nobody missed the uncertainty.
Ava looked at him.
"You believe him."
Damien didn't answer.
That was the answer.
Because despite everything...
Despite the secrets.
Despite the lies.
A part of him still wanted his father to be innocent.
"I spent ten years believing he was gone."
His eyes stayed on the photograph.
"I spent ten years blaming myself."
A pause.
"And now he's here."
His jaw tightened.
"I don't know what to believe."
Ava understood.
Because she felt the same.
Julian took the phone from Damien.
"Where was this taken?"
Damien looked at the details.
"Outside the city."
Victoria immediately stood.
"I know that place."
Everyone looked at her.
"Where?"
She hesitated.
Then:
"The old Laurent private facility."
Damien frowned.
"That place was closed years ago."
Victoria looked serious.
"Not for him."
A cold feeling filled the room.
Because if Alexander had a secret place...
A place nobody knew about...
Then how much of his story was real?
They arrived before midnight.
The facility was hidden away from the city.
No signs.
No security.
Nothing that showed it belonged to the Laurent family.
But Damien knew.
The moment he saw the building...
He knew.
His father had brought him here once.
When he was young.
A memory he had forgotten.
A memory he suddenly remembered.
"Damien?"
Ava noticed his expression.
"I've been here."
Julian looked at him.
"What?"
"When I was a child."
His voice lowered.
"My father brought me here."
"Why?"
Damien looked at the building.
"I don't remember."
A pause.
"But I remember being afraid."
Inside, they found exactly what they expected.
And nothing they wanted.
Files.
Records.
Evidence.
A hidden operation.
But the most shocking thing...
Was the name on everything.
Not Alexander.
Not Charles.
Not Laurent.
BENNETT.
Ava froze.
"My family?"
Damien looked through the documents.
"No."
She looked at him.
"Then why is your father's secret facility filled with my family's information?"
Before he could answer...
A screen turned on.
Automatically.
A video began playing.
Alexander Laurent appeared.
Older.
Tired.
Different.
"If you are watching this..."
His voice filled the room.
"...then I failed."
Damien stepped closer.
His father's face stared back at him.
"I know what you are thinking."
A pause.
"You think I betrayed you."
Ava looked at Damien.
He couldn't look away.
"You think I was the enemy."
Alexander continued.
"But the truth is..."
The video paused.
Then resumed.
"I was the only person trying to stop them."
Ava frowned.
"Stop who?"
Alexander looked directly into the camera.
And said:
"The people who created Laurent Industries."
Silence.
"The people who created the agreement."
A pause.
"The people who planned Damien and Ava's lives."
Damien froze.
Because that was the first time someone admitted it.
The plan was real.
"I tried to destroy the system from inside."
Alexander continued.
"But I failed."
The video showed documents.
Hundreds.
Names.
Payments.
Connections.
Then one name appeared.
The room went silent.
Because it was a name they knew.
A name that made Damien step back.
A name that made Ava cover her mouth.
The true person behind everything...
The person who controlled the company.
The person who had been moving every piece.
Was not Charles.
Was not Alexander.
Was not Daniel.
It was someone else.
Someone they trusted.
Someone who had been beside Damien for years.
The screen displayed:
JULIAN LAURENT
Everyone turned.
Slowly.
Toward Julian.
His face had gone completely pale.
"That's impossible."
Damien stared at his brother.
"No."
His voice was quiet.
"Explain."
Julian looked at the screen.
Then at Damien.
And for the first time...
He looked afraid.
"I can explain."
Ava whispered:
"Then explain."
Julian closed his eyes.
Because the truth was finally here.
And there was no place left to hide.
"I didn't disappear because I was protecting you."
A pause.
"I disappeared because I was the reason you were in danger.