Chapter 546: Sins of the Mother

"To understand who you are… you must first know what your mother survived."

---

Tielen's boots crunched over cracked leaves as she moved deeper into the forest near Lake Tanganyika. Every tree whispered secrets, and every shadow felt like it watched her.

She had received intel from an old informant:

"A woman who looks exactly like Jayden… lives here. They call her the Ghost Widow."

Tielen reached a hidden village that didn't exist on any map. Women stirred pots of herbal steam, children ran barefoot, and warriors stood still as stone.

At the center was a hut, guarded by a tree carved with the symbol of flame.

The villagers bowed as Tielen approached.

Inside, a woman with deep eyes and half-white hair sat by a fire.

She didn't flinch.

Tielen's voice cracked. "Who are you?"

The woman's lips curved. "I am the beginning of Ochieng."

---

Meanwhile, in Nairobi, Jayden Ochieng stood over a hologram projected from the Flame Ring.

It revealed a file marked "E-12."

Elira.

She was never just a witch. She had once been a shadow tactician under Bernardo Ochieng. Her mission: to protect the bloodline—at all costs. But she'd gone rogue.

The system opened a video recording.

Bernardo's voice:

> "Elira… if you're seeing this, you've betrayed us. If you ever turn Jayden against himself, remember—I trained him to be greater than even you."

Jayden clenched his fists.

"It's time I pay her a visit."

---

Back in the forest, the old woman finally stood.

"Tell Jayden… that his mother never died. She chose to disappear. To protect him from what I created."

Tielen whispered, "You're… Eunice?"

The woman nodded slowly, tears in her eyes.

"I never wanted him to carry the Ochieng name. I wanted him free… but fate never lets you walk away from fire."

Tielen fell to her knees. The truth was heavier than she'd imagined.

"I must take you to him."

But Eunice raised a hand. "Not yet. First… he must survive what's coming."

A thunder shook the ground.

From the mountain's shadow, a black helicopter appeared—bearing Otieno's mark.

---

Otieno stood atop a dam in Zambia. Below him, thousands of his soldiers in formation.

He raised a goblet filled with black wine and flame powder.

"Tonight," he shouted, "we begin Ash Protocol. We drown their power in their own legacy!"

He sliced his palm, letting blood drip into the chalice.

"By the sins of our fathers, we rise!"

The soldiers repeated in unison:

"We rise!"

---

Jayden sat in silence.

His fingers hovered over a communication orb glowing with Tielen's signal.

But he didn't respond.

His voice, soft: "Mother… you left me."

He stood, walked to the war room, and pulled out the Crimson Folder—Operation Phoenix.

"Let's end what they started."

---