THE TRUTH COMES TO LIGHT

Emma held her breath as she looked at her mother. Her posture and cold gaze were unfamiliar to Emma. This was not the caring mother she had known since childhood.

"Mom... are you here?" Emma asked, her voice trembling.

The woman took a step forward, but there was no surprise in her expression. On the contrary, she appeared calm and controlled, as if she had been waiting for this moment.

"Yes, Emma, I am here because you were meant to come here too," she said, glancing at the Sentinel agents around her. "But the question is: do you really want to hear the answers?"

Emma stepped back, but Richard grabbed her arm and gently squeezed it. It was a silent command to stay calm.

"I want to know the truth," Emma finally said. "You were with us, then you disappeared. We searched for you for years. Now, you're here. Among them."

Her mother took a deep breath.

"You are misunderstanding," she said calmly. "I was never lost."

Emma froze in confusion.

"What?"

"I left voluntarily," her mother continued. "I have always been a part of Sentinel."

A cold silence settled in the room. Sheila, Victoria, and Richard exchanged glances. Emma felt as though cold water had been poured over her head.

"You're lying," Emma whispered.

"You thought this was just a secret?" her mother replied. "No, my daughter. This is fate."

Emma looked into her mother's eyes in shock. There was no sorrow or regret there. She appeared confident.

"You... you deceived me? And my father too?"

Her mother lowered her head.

"Your father always asked too many questions. He had learned too much. That's why... he had to go."

Emma's heart shook.

"You... you killed him?"

Her mother looked at her quietly.

"I didn't... but it was necessary."

Something inside Emma snapped. She could no longer listen. Her body was frozen, but a single thought raced through her mind:

Her mother was her enemy.

Richard whispered:

"We need to get out of here."

But Emma couldn't tear her eyes away from her mother. Everything had changed for her. All the secrets, the shadows of the past, and most painfully — her mother's betrayal.

But there was one thing left.

If her mother was a part of this secret, then Emma's fate might already have been written.

And she was going to fight to change it.