The Laurent estate had been abandoned for years.
At least...
That was what everyone believed.
The mansion sat outside the city, hidden behind endless trees and a rusted iron gate.
A place once filled with parties.
Powerful people.
Family celebrations.
Now?
Silence.
Damien stared at the old building from inside the car.
Ava noticed something.
He wasn't looking at the mansion like someone returning home.
He was looking at it like someone returning to a nightmare.
"You've been here before."
It wasn't a question.
Damien kept his eyes forward.
"Yes."
"When?"
A pause.
"When I was a child."
Ava looked at him.
"And you never came back?"
"No."
"Why?"
For a moment, Damien said nothing.
Then:
"Because the last time I was here..."
His voice lowered.
"I lost my family."
Ava became quiet.
She wanted to ask more.
But something in his expression stopped her.
Some memories weren't meant to be forced open.
The gate opened slowly.
Almost like the house knew they were coming.
The car stopped in front of the mansion.
Damien stepped out.
Ava followed.
The cold wind moved through the trees.
The place felt alive.
Not haunted.
Just full of things nobody had said.
"You feel it too, don't you?"
Ava looked at him.
"Feel what?"
"That this place remembers."
She didn't answer.
Because she did.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
But nothing was destroyed.
The furniture remained.
The paintings remained.
The family portraits still hung on the walls.
Ava stopped in front of one.
A younger Damien.
A younger Julian.
Their father is standing behind them.
A perfect family.
Almost.
"Which one is Julian?"
Damien pointed.
The boy standing beside him.
Ava studied the picture.
They looked different.
Damien had always looked serious.
Even as a child.
Julian looked warmer.
Happier.
"He looks like he was the opposite of you."
Damien looked at the picture.
"He was."
"Then why did you two become enemies?"
His expression changed.
"We didn't."
Ava turned.
"What?"
Damien looked away.
"The world made us."
Before she could ask more...
A sound came from upstairs.
Ava froze.
"Did you hear that?"
Damien immediately became alert.
He stepped in front of her.
Again.
"Stay here."
"No."
"Ava."
"I'm not hiding while you walk into danger."
A small almost-smile appeared.
"You always argue?"
"Only with difficult people."
"And I am?"
"Extremely."
For the first time...
Damien almost laughed.
Almost.
Then the sound came again.
A door closing.
They followed it upstairs.
At the end of the hallway was a room.
A room Damien didn't recognize.
Which was impossible.
He had grown up here.
Every room.
Every hallway.
Every corner.
He knew them.
But this door...
He had never seen it.
There was one problem.
It was locked.
Ava looked at him.
"Your family had a secret room?"
Damien stared at the door.
"My father did."
The lock was old.
Damien searched the hallway.
Then stopped.
A painting.
A family portrait.
He moved it aside.
Behind it was a key.
Ava's eyes widened.
"Your father really liked drama."
Damien took the key.
"I think he liked control."
The door opened.
Slowly.
Inside was a small office.
A hidden office.
And sitting in the middle of the room...
It was a single folder.
With Damien's name written on it.
His hands went still.
Ava noticed.
"What?"
Damien didn't answer.
He walked closer.
I opened it.
The first page made his entire body freeze.
Because it wasn't about the company.
It wasn't about money.
It wasn't about Julian.
It was about him.
At the top of the document were five words:
THE LAURENT FAMILY EXPERIMENT
Ava looked confused.
"What is that?"
Damien turned the page.
And the color disappeared from his face.
Because beneath the title was a name.
A name neither of them expected.
AVA BENNETT.
The room went silent.
Ava stepped closer.
"Why is my name there?"
Damien looked at her.
And for the first time...
He had no answer.
Because whatever his father had been hiding...
It wasn't only about the Laurent family.
It was about her too.