Carl couldn’t believe what had just happened.Sophia knew everything now.And just as he had expected… she hadn’t taken it well.Carl immediately went to Sophia’s room, hoping to catch her before she left the palace. But when he pushed the door open, he froze in confusion.Only the servants were inside.They were already cleaning the room, stripping the bed and clearing away the last of her belongings as if she had never been there at all.“Your Majesty.”The servants immediately stopped what they were doing and bowed respectfully when they saw him.Carl’s eyes quickly scanned the room.“Where is Ms. Carson?” he asked.The servants glanced at each other hesitantly.“She just left, Your Majesty,” one of them answered carefully. “I believe she’s still somewhere outside the palace.”Carl didn’t waste another second.He turned around and rushed out of the palace.But by the time he reached the main entrance, all he saw was the back of Sophia’s car disappearing down the long palace road.“

Carl didn’t speak right away. He stared at the man in front of him, studying every line of his face, every movement of his eyes. In his entire life, this was the first time he had met someone who knew something about the necklace he carried. All these years, that small piece of metal had been nothing more than a mystery to him. A question he could never answer. Sometimes he wondered if it was connected to his past. Sometimes he wondered if it was the only clue that could one day lead him to his real family. But no matter how much he searched… he had never found anyone who recognized it. Until now. “Who are you?” Carl finally asked, his voice low but steady. His eyes narrowed slightly. “Are you my…?” The man suddenly chuckled. “What? Do you think I’m your father?” Carl fell silent. A strange wave of nervousness rushed through him. The idea of having a father— A real father. It was something he had never truly imagined before. And now that the possibil

Carl didn’t move.For a moment, it felt like the entire world had gone silent—like everything around him had been stripped away, leaving only those words echoing in his mind.The key… is hanging around your neck.His hand instinctively went to the necklace.His fingers curled tightly around it.“This?” he said, his voice low and dangerous. “You’re telling me… this thing is the reason my parents were killed?”The older man didn’t hesitate.“Yes.”The answer came too easily. Too firmly.Carl’s jaw tightened.“And you expect me to just believe that?”The man sighed, as if he had anticipated that reaction.“I don’t expect you to believe me,” he said. “I expect you to think.”Carl’s eyes narrowed.“Think about everything that’s happened so far,” the man continued. “You were abandoned as a child. No records. No identity tied to your past. And yet…”He gestured toward Carl.“You ended up in the military. Rose through the ranks faster than anyone. Became someone people either admired… or fear

The night swallowed them the moment they stepped out of the bar.No sirens.No guards.No royal escorts.Just silence—and the kind of darkness that felt like it was watching.Carl moved first.“Vehicle,” he said shortly.One of Johnson’s men tossed him a set of keys without a word. Parked just across the street was a matte-black SUV—unmarked, untraceable.Perfect.“Get in,” Carl ordered.Sophia and Jessa didn’t argue this time. The tension in the air was too thick for questions.Within seconds, the engine roared to life.—The road to Astrandale was long.Too long.No one spoke for the first thirty minutes.Only the sound of the engine… and the quiet hum of something waiting ahead.Sophia finally broke the silence.“So… let me get this straight,” she said, arms crossed tightly. “We’re heading into a secret military facility that erases people… because someone wants you there?”Carl kept his eyes on the road.“That’s one way to put it.”“That’s the worst way to put it,” Jessa muttered

When Carl regained consciousness, he found himself in a hospital room.The sterile scent of antiseptic filled the air, the steady beeping of machines echoing faintly in the background. Everything felt too bright… too real.And yet, part of him still wondered if this was just another illusion.Beside him sat Sophia, her face pale with worry, her eyes rimmed with exhaustion as if she hadn’t slept at all.“Carl!” she exclaimed the moment his eyes opened. She leaned closer, her voice trembling. “How are you? Are you in pain? What happened to you back there?”Carl frowned, disoriented, his gaze sweeping across the unfamiliar room.“Where am I?” he asked hoarsely.“You’re in the hospital,” Sophia answered quickly.“How did I get here?” His voice sharpened. “Where is he?”Sophia blinked, confusion flashing across her face.“Who?” she asked. “They found you unconscious in a room. We brought you here right away—you had bruises all over your body.” She hesitated, searching his face. “Carl… what