“What is it, Joaquin?” Serena asked, confused as she noticed the sudden change in his expression.Joaquin stood frozen, still holding his phone. He could barely find his voice. Slowly, he lowered the device and looked straight at her.“I… I found him, Serena.”Serena frowned, unsure what he meant. “Who?”“My father,” Joaquin whispered, disbelief thick in his tone. “My real father.”Serena’s eyes widened in shock. “What? Joaquin, that’s incredible! Then let’s go—let’s go to him now!”Without wasting another second, they both hurried out of the house. Joaquin grabbed his keys, his heart hammering in his chest as they got into the car. Rick had texted him the coordinates, and he wasn’t about to lose another moment.He pressed hard on the accelerator, the engine roaring to life. Every light they passed blurred into streaks of gold as the car sped down the empty road.His father was alive. After all the lies, all the blood, all the pain — there was still a piece of his past left breathing.

Joaquin stood frozen as he stared at the back of the man in the wheelchair. The old man was angled toward the glass window, silently watching the sweeping view of the mountains.For a moment, Joaquin couldn’t make himself move.What if the man didn’t recognize him? What if he didn’t accept him?What if… he was wrong again?A storm of questions spun inside his mind, each one heavier than the last, and none with an answer he could bear to imagine.He flinched slightly when he felt someone latch onto his arm.Serena. She gave him a soft smile—as if she felt every fear trembling inside him.“Go to him,” she whispered.Joaquin inhaled deeply. “What if—”Serena tapped his arm, firm but comforting. “No what-ifs. Just go talk to him.”One more breath. One nod.He forced his feet to move.Every step made his heartbeat louder. By the time he reached the man, it felt like time itself held its breath.The resemblance was undeniable. The same nose. The same jawline. The same presence. Only the eye

Joaquin had no idea how he was supposed to process what he had just learned.The woman walking in front of him was Lucy Baldoza.His biological mother.Everything about their surroundings felt wrong—wrong in a way that made his chest tighten.Tall plants towered over them on both sides of the path. When he finally looked closely, he realized they were corn stalks, planted in long, orderly rows.The narrow road they were walking on wasn’t even paved.“What exactly happened to you, Mister?” Lucy asked.Joaquin swallowed.“Actually… I don’t know.”Lucy raised an eyebrow slightly and glanced at him again.Even her posture felt different.She was wearing a long, floral dress—past her knees, loose and simple.Nothing like the modern clothes from his time.If he was right…He had gone back to the past.Veyrix had sent him back.Joaquin shook his head.But I already killed him.Veyrix had been gone for a long time.

Joaquin blinked repeatedly.The man standing before him was red—not burning, but his skin was an unnatural, vivid crimson. His hair was long, his body powerfully built. He wore no shirt, only black trousers clinging to his muscular frame.He was grinning from ear to ear, eyes fixed on Joaquin as if he were prey.“U-Umbreal?”The creature stepped closer.“Yes, Son.”Joaquin forced his body to move. He staggered back, raising his hands in defense.“N-No… how?”“You still don’t understand what happened to you?” Umbreal said calmly. “You are my son through Jackson Villareal. I was inside his body when I was with your mother—Lucy.”He even closed his eyes briefly when he spoke Lucy’s name, as if savoring it.Joaquin’s fists clenched, his teeth grinding in fury.“Don’t mention her name!” he shouted.He lunged forward—but with a single gesture, Umbreal froze him in place. Joaquin’s e