The masked man patted Juan on the shoulder. "Come with me."


    Juan nced at the door to Debra''s room once again before following the masked man to the fifth floor.


    The hallway was shrouded in darkness. The masked man pushed open a door to reveal a master bedroom frozen in time, its décor untouched for decades.


    A massive oil painting dominated the wall. It was the wedding portrait of a couple. The woman radiated serene elegance, while the man beside her bore a striking resemnce to Juan, his expression stern and unyielding.


    The masked man strode to a vase near the bed and twisted it. With a low groan, a wardrobe slid aside, exposing a steel door that opened to a sleek, modern elevator.


    Juan''s jaw tightened. He had lived there for years, yet never knew this hidden passage existed in his parents'' old room.


    The masked man stepped inside first. The elevator descended silently to the second underground level. When the doors opened, Juan froze.


    The ce sprawled before him like a shrine. Walls were stered with photographs of a woman mid-dance. ss cases disyed her dresses, preserved as if she might slip into them again.


    "These are all the remnants your mother left behind," the masked man said, his voice softening as he gazed at the collection.


    Juan took a hesitant step forward.


    In this house, traces of his mother had always been scarce. Melody had dismissed her as a restless, unfit wife whose death was no great loss. Yet here, the photographs told a different story. She seemed to be radiant soul who embraced life.


    Juan had no memories of his mother. To him, she was little more than a stranger. Logically, this- should mean nothing. But the sight of her luminous smile wed at something deep in his chest.


    The man removed his mask, revealing a face weathered by time yet undeniably familiar.


    Jeffrey Nichols spoke up. "Juan, you''ve done well. Thepany thrives under your leadership. You''ve cared for your grandmother. I''m proud of you."


    "Proud?" Juan let out a hollowugh. "Where were you when thepany nearly copsed and when we were drowning in debt? And now you reappear to tell me you''re proud?"


    He stepped back, putting distance between them. "Dad, aren''t you supposed to


    be dead? If you''ve been alive all this time, why return now?"


    Jeffrey removed the voice modtor from his neck. "For your mother. Everything I''ve done is to reunite our family."


    "Reunite?" Juan''s voice dripped with icy mockery.