The Hidden Past

Mia sat in stunned silence, Marco's words echoing in her mind.

"You are the board. Everything revolves around you."

Alexander's grip on her tightened, his body radiating tension. Victor, still at his computer, kept scanning through files, his fingers flying across the keyboard.

"I found something else," he murmured, his voice cautious. "A name—Dr. Elias Vaughn. It's attached to several of these genetic reports."

Mia's stomach dropped. "Dr. Vaughn? I've never heard of him."

Victor clicked on the name, pulling up a confidential file. A grainy black-and-white photo appeared on the screen—a man in his late fifties, with piercing gray eyes and a stern expression.

"He was a geneticist," Victor explained. "Worked for some of the most classified biotech programs in the world. But a few years ago, he vanished."

Alexander frowned. "And let me guess—Marco was connected to him?"

Victor nodded. "More than connected. Marco was funding his research. And based on what I'm seeing, Mia… Dr. Vaughn wasn't just studying you. He was looking for you."

Mia's throat tightened. "Looking for me? Why?"

Victor scrolled through more documents. "Because, according to these reports… you were part of something much bigger."

He clicked on another file, and a birth certificate appeared. Mia leaned in to read it—but her breath caught in her throat.

The document wasn't just hers. It was altered.

The parents listed were not the ones she had always known.

She shook her head in disbelief. "No… This has to be a mistake."

Alexander's expression darkened. "Who are the names on the certificate?"

Victor hesitated, then read aloud, "Mother: Evelyn Vaughn. Father: Elias Vaughn."

Mia's world tilted. "No… No, that's not right. My parents are David and Margaret Kingston. They raised me!"

Victor turned to her, his face serious. "Mia… It looks like you were adopted."

Silence.

Alexander took a step closer. "Mia?"

She couldn't breathe. This was too much. She had always believed she knew who she was. That her life, her past, was hers.

But now?

Now, everything had changed.