Damon stared at the file in silence
The name written across the top hit harder than any bullet
Avery Sinclair
His mother
Emma sat up slowly
Her voice soft
I thought she died when you were a teenager
Damon nodded
His voice low
That's what they told me
She disappeared
And after a few years
My father declared her dead
Leo opened the file wider
Inside were signed receipts
Bank transactions
Surveillance stills
She's been alive
Moving across countries
Changing her identity
But consistently wired money into Hale's foundation
Huge sums
Monthly
For over a decade
Emma reached out and touched Damon's hand
It was shaking
Tightly closed into a fist
Why would she do this
What does she have to do with Hale
Leo sat back
His face serious
There's more
One of the documents links her name to the acquisition of the orphanage Hale used
She co-signed the property
Twenty years ago
Damon stood up and walked to the window
The cold outside was nothing compared to the chill inside him
She was part of it
From the beginning
Emma stood beside him
Her voice barely a whisper
Do you want to find her
Damon didn't answer
Not right away
He closed his eyes
And when he opened them again
They were different
Not just angry
Not just broken
Determined
Yes
I need to look into her eyes
And ask her why she chose monsters over her son
Leo traced the leads
She had been seen recently in Rome
Under a new name
She ran a luxury art gallery
Hidden in plain sight
They left that same night
Emma packed quietly
Damon moved with calm fury
And Leo secured fake IDs and a flight under aliases
It rained when they arrived in Rome
The sky gray
The roads narrow
Everything felt like a memory that didn't belong to them
The gallery was in an old building
Beautiful on the outside
Dark beneath the surface
Emma entered first
Wearing a red dress
Eyes sharp
Confident
Like someone born in that world
The assistant barely looked at her as she passed
Leo was at the back entrance
Damon came through the service door
They met in the hallway behind the main room
Leo whispered
She's upstairs
Private quarters
Third floor
Guards at the elevator
Damon didn't wait
He moved like a ghost
Quick
Silent
Deadly
The elevator opened with a beep
Two guards reached for their weapons
Damon dropped them both in seconds
Emma followed close behind
Her heart racing
When they entered the room
The woman standing at the window turned slowly
She was older
But still elegant
Eyes like Damon's
Cold
Sharp
She did not seem surprised
So
You found me
Damon stepped forward
Why
Avery did not flinch
Because I had no choice
Because survival demands sacrifice
And because the world belongs to the powerful
Emma stepped beside him
You sold children
You let them suffer
Avery met her gaze without blinking
And what do you think the world does every day
Turns away from pain because it's inconvenient
I simply learned to profit from it
Before it consumed me
Damon's voice cracked
I was your son
She turned to him
And for one second
There was something in her eyes
Regret
Or maybe something trying to be regret
You were never meant to be part of it
Your father made that decision
I just let it happen
And in the end
I left to protect you from what I had become
Damon stepped back
The silence between them burned
You could have stayed
You could have fought back
You could have been a mother
Avery closed her eyes
No
I couldn't
Because I was already gone
She reached for something on the table
A glass vial
But Leo rushed in
Grabbed her wrist
Poison
He said flatly
She was going to end it
Damon stood still
His voice low
You don't get to leave
Not like this
You get to live with the consequences
Like all of us
He turned to Emma
His voice steady again
We have what we need
Let's go
They left without another word
Guards scrambled behind them
But Leo had already called local law enforcement
Interpol was notified
The gallery would be shut down
Every dirty trail exposed
That night back in the hotel
Damon sat at the edge of the bed
His shoulders heavy
His past shattered into pieces
Emma knelt in front of him
You did what you had to do
He looked at her
And for the first time in years
Tears welled in his eyes
She was my mother
And she was a monster
And I still wanted her to love me
Emma wrapped her arms around him
Held him close
We don't get to choose our blood
But we choose what kind of people we become
And you chose to fight
You chose to protect
You chose me
He buried his face in her neck
I don't deserve you
She whispered back
But you have me anyway
Outside
Rome kept raining
Washing away everything they left behind
But in that room
A new beginning took root
One built on truth
On pain
On survival
And the love that somehow survived it all