Chapter 1638: Is Zoren our cousin?

It had been days since Slater last came home to the Bennet Mansion. Mostly because of work—and some other tasks on the side. After all, he was investigating a group in the area where he had recently performed his shows.

The only reason he came home today was that he would officially be moving over the weekend. He needed to check on his things and help with the move.

In other words, he couldn’t think of any reason why both Charles and Atlas wanted to speak with him privately. Even so, Slater reluctantly finished his soup and headed straight to Atlas’s room.

Knock, knock.

"Come in."

Slater groaned, rolling his eyes as he reluctantly reached for the doorknob. He pushed the door open and stepped inside, immediately spotting Atlas by the liquor stand.

Atlas stood quietly, pouring himself a glass of wine with his back turned to Slater.

"First Brother, what did I do this time?" Slater asked, already sounding defensive. "I even asked Butler Jen, but he wouldn’t tell me anything."

Silence.

Atlas didn’t respond. He placed the cork back on the bottle and set it down. But instead of savoring the wine, he simply rested his hand on the stand’s surface.

Slowly, Atlas turned his head toward Slater. "Uncle Haines hasn’t been home."

"Huh?" Slater frowned. "What do you mean?"

Atlas faced him fully, leaning against the stand with his arms crossed, his eyes fixed coldly on Slater.

"Not long ago, Dad found a portrait of a woman lying around the house," he began, his voice flat and sharp. "It brought back some awful memories. And, as expected, he told Uncle Haines about it."

"And?"

"It turns out the woman in the photo is Uncle Haines’s first and only lover."

Slater blinked. "Uncle Haines had a girlfriend?"

That was the exact thought that crossed Atlas’s mind when he first heard it from Butler Jen. But that wasn’t the point.

"Yes. And here’s where it gets worse," Atlas continued, his tone hard. "That woman is also the same person who died during Dad’s last military operation. The same woman—and the same reason—why our father was abducted, tortured, and barely came back sane."

Slater’s brows knit tighter as the weight of the revelation settled in.

"What?" he gasped. "Wait, let me get this straight. Dad found a picture in the house... and it turned out to be the woman who was a casualty in that operation? And the twist is—she was Uncle Haines’s ex-lover?"

"Yes."

"And because of that...?"

"Uncle Haines hasn’t been home since."

Slater opened his mouth, then closed it again, his expression riddled with disbelief. This couldn’t be real... right?

"But that’s not even the important part. That’s not why I wanted to talk to you," Atlas cut in, snapping Slater out of his daze.

"What now?" Slater groaned, a sense of dread crawling up his spine. "Don’t tell me there’s another plot twist. This is already too much."

Atlas stared at him blankly. "The photo... it’s yours."

"Huh?"

"It was found while the helpers and Butler Jen were packing up your things," Atlas explained. "I’m guessing you either got it from a case file and cut it out—or you printed it yourself."

Slater’s brows furrowed deeply. "I don’t do that."

"Hmm?"

"First Brother, if not for Penny, no one here would even know about my part-time job," Slater said firmly. "And that’s because I learned never to bring home any evidence from Homeland Security. Especially not to this house."

Which explained why, until now, his double life had gone completely unnoticed.

"Then where did you get it?" Atlas pressed.

"What? I don’t even know what picture you’re talking about..." Slater trailed off, his eyes clouding with realization.

Did he really not know?

He sifted through his memory, mentally going over everything he kept in his room. There wasn’t anything significant... at least, nothing that could tie him to something dangerous.

Except—there was one picture.

One photograph of a woman he had stolen from the Old Pierson Residence.

Slowly, Slater raised his confused gaze to his brother.

"What is it?" Atlas asked, narrowing his eyes. "You just thought of something. Spill it."

"First Brother... if you’re talking about an old portrait of a woman... then... I think I did have that in one of my books," Slater admitted, his confusion deepening. "But that’s not the woman who died during Dad’s last military operation."

Atlas’s brows arched. "What are you saying?"

"Mint pulled up the details of the casualties from that operation. She wasn’t supposed to show me, but she did. And the woman in that portrait isn’t the same person from the official records."

"That’s... strange," Atlas muttered under his breath. "I’m certain Dad recognized the woman in that photo as the same victim from the operation."

He was confused, but he pushed through it. "Then why was that woman’s photo among your things?"

"Because I stole it... and I wanted to keep it hidden for now," Slater admitted, hesitating before continuing. But Atlas clearly wasn’t going to let it go without a full explanation.

"Where did you steal it from?" Atlas demanded.

Slater snapped his eyes toward him. "That’s the strangest part, First Brother. That woman... it’s impossible that she’s the same person from Dad’s past or Uncle Haines’s ex-lover. Because that woman is..."

He took a deep breath before finishing, "...Naylani Pierson."

Atlas’s expression turned sharply serious.

"I stole it from Grandma Pierson’s house," Slater confessed. "She showed me their old family photos... That’s Zoren’s mom."

Silence fell between them, thick with confusion and tension.

"If she really is the same woman from the case files," Slater whispered, his face pale, "then either we’ve been given false information... or Dad and Uncle Haines are both delusional. And I really doubt it’s the latter."

He swallowed hard. "What the hell is going on? Is Zoren our cousin?!"

"I hope not," Atlas muttered darkly, rubbing his temple. His head throbbed painfully as the reality of the situation sank in.

What kind of twisted situation was this?