Reflection

I arrived in a port city, in a rather strange hotel. There were a lot of robots here, more than at the academy. It was an imposing place with huge buildings with advertisement screens and a lot of traffic, however, I wasn't here to visit that place, I was just there to rest.

I just lay down on the bed and tried to think clearly about what I would do. Everything had changed for me in a week, I no longer had anyone I trusted at the academy, and I don't know what I could do. Slowly, I began to lose interest in my revenge; however, Chloe brought me a surprise. She knocked on my room and when she opened it there were two younger girls. 

They both looked like Miguel, but were no older than 12.

"Is he my brother?" one of them asked.

"Yes."

It was a strange moment for me, I didn't know what to say to her, she didn't tell me any of this. 

I ended up being hugged by them.

"But how? If they are younger than me?

"Your father went crazy after he lost his first son. He tried to replace him and did a lot of traveling, became a womanizer, and after a few years he started looking for his sons and taking them away. I never told him that he had daughters with me.

I was shocked to hear Chloe's revelation about the two girls in front of me. It was hard to process all that information all at once. As I tried to take it in, I felt a mixture of emotions: surprise, confusion, and some sadness that my father had been traumatized years ago.

I tried to gather my thoughts and process the situation. Learning that I had two younger sisters, the result of my father's relationship with Chloe, left me perplexed. Life had surprised me once again, and it seemed the surprises would never end.

I approached Chloe and the two girls, looking at them with tenderness and understanding. Even though I had no idea they existed, I felt an instant connection with them, a blood bond I couldn't ignore.

"My dear sisters," I said with a smile. "It is an honour to finally meet you. Although this is unexpected, I want you to know that I am here for you. I am your older brother, and I will do everything in my power to care for you and protect you."

The girls looked at me cautiously, but I could also see a spark of hope in their eyes. It was clear that they had been through difficult situations and had longed for the support of a family.

I turned to Chloe, recognising the courage she had had to raise these girls alone for so long. "Chloe, I understand you've been through a lot. Thank you for taking care of my sisters and for keeping this a secret. I can't imagine how hard it must have been for you. Now that we're together, we'll make a family and support each other."

Chloe nodded, her eyes showing relief and gratitude. "Thank you, Nick. I knew we could count on you. The girls have been looking for a father figure in their lives, someone to trust and love."

I knelt down in front of the girls and hugged them tenderly. "I promise you will never be alone again. I am here for you, to be your big brother and your protector. Together we will face any challenge that comes our way."

As chaos and revenge faded from my mind, a new determination grew within me: to build a family, to heal the wounds of the past and create a future based on love and mutual support. I didn't have all the answers, but I was determined to do what was best for my sisters and my adoptive mother, I already thought of her as such.

[...]

Everything that had happened made me very thoughtful, they were so much like Michael, it was undeniable that somehow Chloe took it upon herself to have children with him. I really felt uncomfortable to insist and ask her about it, maybe she saw me as the son she lost and that's why she was helping me and didn't care about what happened with Lucia. She saw that I was just as weird as my dad. I clearly understood that what I signed was not a power of attorney, but some document to legally make me his son.

I had to choose between revenge and my family, I didn't want anyone to do anything to them, but I couldn't leave anything like that. They were a problem that was slowly but quietly emerging, and if it wasn't controlled in time it could multiply. 

I didn't know what to do, but watching the news on the television, I realised that something was happening. 

"Another alliance planet was destroyed, alarm bells are ringing, the ungeizefer could be responsible for this. The authorities are beginning to assess the situation to make a decision."

Seeing that news was enough for me to know that my duty was to stay in that academy and eliminate them. This planet was one of their targets in a few years and it would be worse. From that moment, I decided to talk to Chloe and explain what was going on. Although, I didn't know how she would react to this news.

I left the room and went to the living room, where Chloe was. She was sitting in an armchair looking at her mobile phone. I explained to her what I had just seen on the news. 

"Chloe, I understand that we are going through a complicated time as a family, but I need to contact you about something, the academy is run by ungeizefer. They were responsible for the death of my father and brother. There are some semiungeizefer in the academy and they are slowly starting to grow," I told her seriously.

Chloe listened carefully to my words, and her face reflected concern.

"Miguel, I understand your concern and I know this is important, but we must also consider the safety and well-being of your sisters. I cannot allow you to put yourself in danger. I have already registered you as my son, if you do anything, they will probably be your targets."

I looked her straight in the eye and assured her, "Chloe, I understand and appreciate your concern for us, but I also have a responsibility left to me by my father. He trained me for this and maybe he was right, I have no proof to rat out the ungeizefer in the school and those who collaborate with them. I have two options to take down the general or find evidence against them, but for that I need to be there and material to gather information while pretending to be happy there. They try to look for different talents to have offspring with remarkable people for their next generation."

Chloe sighed deeply and, after a moment's thought, nodded.

"Nick, I know I can stop you, I see hatred and resentment in your eyes, but promise me you will take all the necessary precautions and take care of yourself when you go back there. I don't doubt you, I know the kind of life and training Harrison gave you, he took away your childhood and made you live through terrible things. I make it clear to you that if you ever lose an arm or a leg for any reason, I will have to take you out, I will not let you hurt yourself with your revenge. Just gather the necessary information and leave that place immediately. I'm not going to deny that I don't like that place at all, and there is a lot of neglect and money grubbing going on. I clearly understand that there is something fishy going on there."

"All right, I will do it. Just keep my sisters away from this place, while I finish this mission."

"Yes I will, I know the imminent danger here, and the trouble they could be in as Harrison's daughters, I've had to take some care."

I had already lost two fingers, and I knew what it was like to have a part of me removed. I preferred not to discuss that with her. On that subject. My body still ached and it was hard to breathe. I had to continue to recover a bit.