The rain had slowed to a soft drizzle, tapping lightly against the windows of the heavily fortified compound. Inside, the silence was thick and heavy. Ryan stood at the window, his eyes distant as he gazed out at the darkened sky. His posture was still, calm, but beneath the surface, a storm brewed within him. The battle was over, the enemies scattered, but the questions would soon begin.
Sarah and Helena.
His sisters were safe, as they had always been in his mind, even when they believed otherwise. For years, they had thought he was dead. For years, they had mourned him. Now, their reunion had brought them joy, but also confusion. They deserved answers.
But not all answers.
Ryan knew he could never tell them everything. The life they had once known—the life he had fought to preserve for them—was gone, buried beneath the weight of the shadows he now controlled. And though he had the power to protect them from any enemy, from any threat, there were things he could not protect them from—truths that would only bring more pain.
He turned from the window, his eyes darkening as he moved through the hallways of the compound. His footsteps echoed softly in the emptiness, the weight of his presence filling the space. He was no longer the boy they had known, the brother they had grown up with. That part of him had died the night his world had shattered.
But for his sisters, for Sarah and Helena, there was still a part of him that remained. A part of him that had to face them now, answer their questions, and offer them some semblance of peace. Even if the truth of his life could never fully be shared.
The Room of Questions
Sarah and Helena sat together in a small, dimly lit room, their faces still pale from the shock of recent events. The weight of the past few days had taken its toll on both of them, and though they had finally reunited with their brother—whom they had believed dead for so long—their hearts were heavy with uncertainty.
"Do you think he'll tell us everything?" Helena asked softly, her fingers twisting nervously in her lap.
Sarah glanced at her, her face a mix of relief and concern. "I don't know," she replied quietly. "I don't think we'll ever know everything. But… we deserve to understand why."
"Why he disappeared?" Helena's voice trembled slightly. "Why he let us believe he was gone?"
Sarah nodded, her gaze drifting toward the door. "He's different now. You can see it. He's not… the same Ryan we grew up with. He's—"
"Colder," Helena finished for her, her voice barely above a whisper. "Darker."
Before Sarah could respond, the door opened. The soft creak of hinges filled the room as Ryan stepped inside, his tall figure casting a shadow across the floor. His presence was commanding, but there was a gentleness in his expression—something reserved only for his sisters.
"Ryan," Helena breathed, her voice filled with both relief and pain.
He nodded slightly, his eyes flicking between them, reading the confusion and heartache etched on their faces. For a long moment, no one spoke. The silence stretched between them, heavy with the weight of everything that had been left unsaid.
Finally, Sarah broke the silence. "We need to know why," she said, her voice steady but full of emotion. "Why did you let us believe you were dead? Why did you leave us?"
Ryan's jaw tightened, the emotions he had buried for so long stirring within him. He had known these questions would come. But now, standing before them, facing the people he loved most in the world, he found that the answers were more difficult than he had expected.
"I didn't leave you," he began quietly, his voice low and measured. "Not by choice."
Helena's eyes filled with tears. "Then why didn't you come back? Why didn't you tell us?"
Ryan's gaze softened, but the shadow of his past remained in his eyes. "Because I couldn't. I couldn't come back. Not after what happened."
Sarah leaned forward, her expression searching. "What happened, Ryan? What happened that made you disappear from our lives? We thought you were dead."
Ryan exhaled slowly, the weight of the past pressing down on him. He had always known this moment would come—the moment when he would have to explain, when the walls he had built around his heart would begin to crack. But there were some truths that even his sisters could not bear.
"There are things I can't tell you," he said softly, his voice filled with quiet regret. "Things that I've had to keep hidden, to protect you."
"Protect us from what?" Helena asked, her voice trembling. "You've always protected us, Ryan. But why… why like this?"
Ryan took a deep breath, his gaze shifting to the floor. "The world I'm part of now… it's dangerous. More dangerous than you can imagine. If I had stayed with you, if I had returned… you would've been in more danger than ever. And I couldn't risk that."
Sarah frowned, her eyes narrowing slightly. "Danger? What kind of danger? We've been through so much already. What could be worse?"
Ryan's eyes flicked up, meeting hers. "The kind of danger that doesn't stop. The kind that consumes everything in its path. I've made enemies—powerful enemies. Enemies who would have used you, Sarah, Helena, to get to me."
Helena wiped her eyes, her voice wavering. "But… we're your sisters. We could've helped you."
Ryan's heart clenched at her words. He wished it were that simple. "No," he said firmly. "You couldn't. The people I deal with, the forces I've had to confront… they don't care about loyalty or family. They only care about power. And I couldn't let them use you as leverage."
The room fell into silence again, the weight of Ryan's words settling over them like a heavy fog. Sarah and Helena exchanged a glance, the realization of just how far Ryan had fallen from the life they had once known sinking in.
"Then… what are you now?" Sarah asked, her voice small. "What have you become?"
Ryan hesitated. This was the question he had feared the most. How could he explain the depths of the shadows he now controlled? How could he make them understand the sacrifices he had made, the power he had gained, without revealing the darkness that had consumed him?
"I'm still your brother," he said softly. "But I'm also something else now. Something… that I can't fully explain."
Helena's eyes searched his face, her expression filled with a mix of love and sorrow. "You've changed so much, Ryan. You're not the same person we remember."
Ryan nodded, his voice heavy with the weight of his past. "I know. And I can never be that person again."
The Unspoken Past
As the room fell into a quiet lull, memories of his past began to flicker through Ryan's mind—memories of a time before the shadows had taken hold of his life. His sisters couldn't know the full truth, not yet. But the pieces were still there, waiting to be revealed.
Once, he had been like them. Innocent, untouched by the darkness. He had been happy, hopeful, and full of life. His family had been everything to him—his father, strong and wise; his mother, gentle and kind; and his sisters, his heart and soul. They had been a perfect family, living in a world they believed was safe.
But even then, the shadows had been creeping closer, hidden beneath the surface, waiting for the moment when they would strike.
Ryan could still remember the warmth of his father's voice, the way his mother's hands would rest on his shoulders as they walked through the gardens of their estate. He remembered the laughter, the joy, the simple moments of peace.
And he remembered the night everything had fallen apart.
But now was not the time to tell them that story. Not yet.
Present
Sarah's voice broke through his thoughts, soft and pleading. "Are we still safe? Now that we're together again… are we safe?"
Ryan looked at her, his heart heavy with the knowledge he couldn't share. "As long as I'm here, no one will hurt you. You're safe with me. But… there are things I have to keep hidden. For your sake."
Helena reached out, taking his hand. "We don't care about the danger, Ryan. We just want you back."
Ryan's throat tightened. They didn't understand, and he couldn't make them understand. Not fully.
"I'm still here," he whispered, squeezing her hand. "But the man I was before… he's gone."
The room fell silent once more, and Ryan stood, knowing that he could only give them part of the truth for now. He had become something more than they could ever know—something more than even he had once thought possible.
But for now, he would protect them. And they would never know the full depth of what he had lost, or the dark path that had led him to where he stood today.