Seojin stood frozen, staring at the screen where the message blinked at her in cold, unfeeling letters.
"The girl is alive."
Her mind raced. Alive? Her mother had died when Seojin was just a child. She'd seen it.
So why was the Council, her father, sending this message? What did it mean?
Minji looked up at her, her face pale. "Seojin, what is this? Why would they—"
"I don't know," Seojin interrupted, her voice cold. "But I'm going to find out."
Kade glanced at her. "This changes everything. Your father could be hiding her. Or he could be trying to manipulate you again."
Seojin clenched her fists. Her mother—the one person she thought she could trust, the one person she had lost to the Council's machinations.
But what if she hadn't died?
What if her father had lied?
Her world was slipping through her fingers, and now, it seemed like even the past was a lie.
"We need answers," Seojin muttered. "And I'm not waiting for him to give them to me."
The next few hours were a blur of planning and action.
Kade and Minji worked on tracing the encrypted message, trying to pinpoint where it came from. But every trail led to dead ends. The Council had too many layers of protection.
Seojin, on the other hand, was already planning her next move. She couldn't sit here and wait. The truth was out there, and she needed to confront her father—again.
"Where are you going?" Minji asked, her voice tinged with concern as Seojin grabbed her coat.
Seojin turned, meeting her gaze. "I'm going to him. To find out what he's hiding."
Minji's face softened, but she didn't argue. "I'll come with you."
"No," Seojin said, her voice firm. "You need to stay here and keep working. If I don't come back, you'll have to finish what we started."
Kade stepped forward. "If you're going after your father, it's going to get ugly. He won't just sit there and explain everything to you."
Seojin nodded. "I know."
The van was already waiting outside, the engine running. Seojin gave a final glance to Minji and Kade before stepping into the vehicle.
Her heart pounded as they drove toward her father's estate. The world outside the van seemed to blur as she tried to piece together the puzzle.
Her mother was alive. But why? And why was the Council keeping this a secret?
Her father wasn't just a man anymore. He was a monster—someone who had played with her life and her heart for far too long. And now, he was hiding her mother from her.
The estate loomed in front of her, the gates as tall and imposing as ever. The moment the car pulled up to the front door, Seojin didn't hesitate. She slammed the door open, storming inside.
Her father was waiting in the living room, his usual calm demeanor now replaced by a flicker of unease.
"Seojin," he greeted, his voice smooth. "What brings you here?"
Seojin's gaze was cold as ice. "Don't pretend like you don't know. I know about the message. About my mother."
Her father's eyes flickered for just a moment. The smallest sign of weakness. But he quickly masked it with his usual smile. "Ah. You've seen it. But you don't understand."
"I understand enough," Seojin spat. "You lied. You killed her."
Her father's expression didn't change, but his eyes grew harder. "I didn't kill her, Seojin. I protected her."
Seojin's heart dropped. "Protected her?"
Her father rose from his chair and walked slowly toward her. "When the Council came for her, I had no choice. She was too valuable. Too important for their plans."
Seojin's mind raced. "What plans? What are you talking about?"
Her father smiled, a sad, almost regretful expression on his face. "The Council needed her. They needed her bloodline—her ability to manipulate minds. But she refused. So I did what was necessary."
Seojin stumbled backward. "You…"
Her father sighed, his voice filled with a strange mixture of pride and sadness. "I couldn't let them use her. I kept her safe. But in doing so, I had to hide her from you. From the world."
Seojin's hands shook. "Where is she? Where's my mother?"
Her father's gaze softened, but there was a coldness beneath it that Seojin couldn't shake. "She's alive, Seojin. She's alive, but she's no longer the woman you remember. And if you want her back, you'll have to do what I've done—make a choice."
Seojin's stomach twisted. "What choice?"
Her father walked toward a small cabinet in the corner of the room and opened it. Inside was a small, encrypted device. He placed it in Seojin's hands.
"You have to choose, Seojin. If you want to save her, you need to work with the Council. They control everything. They've made her a weapon, but she's not just their puppet. She's the key to ending all of this. She's the key to controlling the future."
Seojin's breath caught. "What do you mean?"
Her father's face hardened. "If you don't act fast, they will take her from you. They will control her, like they control everything. But if you join us, we can save her. We can end the Council for good."
Seojin's fingers trembled as she gripped the device. "What do I need to do?"
Her father smiled faintly. "You have to infiltrate the Council's inner sanctum. Destroy them from the inside. And when you're done… you'll have your mother back."
End of Chapter 81
Thoughts for Readers:
Do you think Seojin should trust her father and work with the Council to save her mother? Or is this just another trap?
What do you think Seojin will do next?
Sneak Peek for Chapter 82:
Seojin is faced with a choice that will determine the fate of her mother and the world. But when the Council plays its final card, Seojin realizes the truth may be darker than she ever imagined.