Episode 10
## Episode 10: Her Voice in the Silence
**Narrated by Dilara Aslan**
The tape clicked into place.
It was old — the kind of cassette no one used anymore. Dust clung to its edges. But when the caretaker handed me the portable player, his hands trembled slightly.
"She told me," he said, "never to listen. Only to keep it safe."
The cottage was silent.
Alihan sat on the arm of the sofa, eyes fixed on the tape deck like it might explode. I hit play.
At first, just static.
And then…
**"Dilara?"**
Her voice.
My mother's voice.
I hadn't heard it since I was eight years old.
And yet, it wrapped around me like a song I never forgot.
---
**"If you're hearing this… then either I failed, or someone succeeded. And you're old enough now to know the truth."**
My hands were cold. Alihan leaned forward, but didn't speak.
**"I was nineteen when I met your father. Not Murat. Your real father. His name was Kaan Erdem — a pianist with nothing but fire in his heart and no place in Murat's world."**
I froze.
**"He loved me the way no one else dared. And I paid the price. When Murat found out I was pregnant, he offered me a choice: give up the baby, or give up my name. I chose you."**
Alihan put a hand on my knee.
**"But the day you were born… something changed. Murat didn't just take me back. He locked me in his world — golden cage, perfect marriage, endless silence. And then… there was Alihan."**
We both looked at each other.
---
**"He was born from Murat's other life. His affair. His mistake. But when the boy's mother died, Murat took him in. Raised him in secret. And told me — told the world — he had no other child."**
Alihan clenched his fists.
**"But I knew. I always knew. I saw the pain in his eyes when he looked at the boy. The shame. The fear. Because Alihan reminded him of everything he wanted to forget."**
Her voice cracked.
**"I wanted to leave. To take you both. But Murat wouldn't let me. He said if I ever tried, he'd erase me. Just like he erased everyone who didn't obey."**
Tears streamed down my cheeks.
---
**"So I started writing. Hiding letters. Secrets. Journals. I hid them all over the house. Maybe you've found them. Maybe not."**
We had.
And they were just the beginning.
**"The last thing I did before I disappeared was leave you the deed. The tape. The truth."**
**"Dilara… I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't raise you free. I'm sorry you had to grow up under his name. But you are not his daughter. And you are not alone."**
**"Find Alihan. Protect each other. Trust no one."**
**"And remember…"**
There was a long pause.
Then she whispered:
**"Blood is not always family. And family… is not always love."**
*Click.*
Silence.
---
Alihan looked shattered.
"I don't even know what to say," he muttered.
"She knew everything," I whispered. "And she couldn't save either of us."
"She tried."
---
We sat in the cottage for a long time.
No words.
Just grief.
Grief for a life we never had. A family that never existed.
And a woman who gave up everything so we could know who we were.
---
Later that night, as I packed the journal and the cassette into my bag, I looked at Alihan.
"You know what this means, don't you?"
He nodded slowly. "We're not bound by his lies anymore."
I stepped closer.
"We're not siblings."
Alihan met my eyes.
"We never were."
My heart thundered.
And still, part of me trembled. Not from fear — but from what I was about to say.
"I don't know what's waiting for us, Alihan. I don't know if the world will understand."
He took my hand.
"I don't care about the world."
---
The next morning, we left the cottage with new names.
New truths.
And new enemies.
Because Murat Aslan may have died.
But his empire of secrets?
It was still watching us.
---
**To be continued...**
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> 🔥 **Next on Episode 11:**
Dilara and Alihan return to the mansion — but someone is already waiting for them. A face from Alihan's childhood emerges… and he brings a warning that could unravel everything they thought they knew.