Chapter 66 The Reveal

Chapter 66 The Reveal
Raven's POV

I couldn't stop staring at the photograph of the boy.

His resemblance to Adrian was uncanny.

Seeing the boy and Adrian's picture made me miss Adrian even more.

I really hoped he was still searching for me.

But what really surprised me was how I could tell which one was Adrian and which one wasn't, even though they looked alike.

Still sitting there with the photograph, the door opened and Dael walked in.

He placed my food on the table because that was what he always did—bring me food while still keeping me like a prisoner.

Just as he turned to leave, I jumped to my feet.

“Who is he?” I asked harshly.

Dael slowly turned to face me. His eyes caught the picture, and just for a moment, I noticed his entire body go rigid.

I frowned, surprised by how tense he suddenly seemed.

“I have no idea,” he denied, but I sure as hell wasn't having it this time.

“Fuck you, Dael. Don't give me that denial bullshit. I want to know who this boy in the picture is and why he looks exactly like my Adrian, and you damn well are going to tell me.” I hissed, glaring angrily at him.

I watched his jaw clench as his eyes flared with anger.

Those blue eyes.

I felt my breath hitch, and my hands trembled as a sudden realization hit me.

Those blue eyes!

They were exactly like Adrian's.

I moved closer to Dael, stopping just inches from him.

“Dael, take off your mask.” I demanded, but he made no move to do so.

“Dael—”

“No.” He growled, turning around.

Thank God for my fast reflexes. I immediately reached forward and pulled the mask off his face.

I watched his eyes widen in shock before his jaw clenched angrily.

I, on the other hand, staggered backward. My breathing became faster the more I looked at Adrian...

No. Dael.

Gosh, I'm so stupid.

That explained the voice. It explained why it had felt so similar to someone I knew.

Dael was the boy in the picture, a complete lookalike of... Adrian. But somehow, I could tell he wasn't Adrian.

“Y-You are...” I stuttered, pointing at him with shaky fingers. “You are—”

“The boy in the picture.” Dael answered, walking closer to me. He leaned down until our faces were inches apart.

“Adrian's twin.” He whispered.

I grabbed my head, flopping down on the nearest wooden chair.

“Why did you keep this from me?” I muttered.

He laughed. “And why wouldn't I? What good would the information have done you? Besides, Aster doesn't want you to remember... and neither do I.” He added.

“Bullshit.” I scoffed, standing up even angrier than I had been before. “That's a load of bullshit. If you didn't want me to remember, you wouldn't have left all these clues for me to find.” I spat.

Dael said nothing as he looked away from me.

“Tell the truth, Dael. Admit you wanted me to remember!”

“Fine!” He shouted, glaring down at me. “Fine, I wanted you to fucking remember, Raven, because you were never supposed to forget me! You were never supposed to choose that Adrian over me!”

He spoke Adrian's name with so much spite that I couldn't help but stare at him.

“What on earth are you talking about?” I asked, confused.

By now, he was breathing heavily.

Dael ran a hand through his hair before focusing those blue eyes on me again.

“You might not remember, Raven, but I do. I remember everything.”

“Then enlighten me. Remind me what I have forgotten.” I said, moving closer to him.

Dael swallowed, as though he were contemplating whether to continue or not. After a while, I noticed an expression of resignation cross his face, and then he began to talk.

“Before those stupid Aster scientists ran their experiments on you two, Raven, you were my best friend. Yes, you were also close to Adrian, but we were extremely tight.”

He paused.

“From the first day, I knew you were the one for me. We even promised each other that we were going to get into a relationship once we were old enough.”

This made me arch a brow.

“But then those Aster people got us. We were handed over to them by our fucking parents, Raven. OUR PARENTS.” He continued, his voice filled with anger. “I don't know what they kept injecting into us, but soon you started drifting away from me toward that coward, Adrian. You both started to sense each other's abilities, and you left me behind. You forgot about me!”

I didn't know what to say. My mouth felt frozen and heavy, like a rock had been placed on it.

“If we were that close, then why don't I remember a thing about you?” I asked softly.

Dael turned to me harshly.

“Because Aster and Adrian stole you from me!”

My heart pounded.

“Which is why, the moment I got the opportunity to get back at him, I didn't waste it.”

Fear flared in my chest.

“W-What did you do?” I muttered.

“I told them about him, about both of you, knowing they would take him first.”

My eyes widened.

“I told them about your abilities, and that was why they took Adrian away. I thought that with Adrian gone, you would come back to me, but I was dead wrong because after that, you never even looked my way again.”

He laughed bitterly.

“Your bond with him only grew bigger and stronger.”

I listened carefully, not knowing what to say or how to reply. My response could make him decide not to keep talking.

“Then those jerks at Aster became fascinated with your bond and decided to experiment on it. They made you and Adrian the ‘primary pair,’ while I was sidelined as a ‘secondary subject.’” He sneered.

“But none of this was our fault.” I said, my voice trembling.

“You don't think I know that!” Dael shouted, punching a hole through the wall. “All of this is MY fault. MINE.”

He breathed heavily before sliding down the wall he had punched.

“I'm evil, Raven.” He muttered. “I was so jealous of my own brother, believing he took what I thought belonged to me, but in reality, I was just an asshole. Now I have to spend years wishing I could undo what I had done, but I can't.”

I stared at him, unable to find the words to respond.

For the first time since I had met Dael, I didn't see the masked man who had held me captive.

I saw someone who had made a terrible choice and had spent years regretting it.

But that didn't erase what he had done.

He had betrayed Adrian.

He had betrayed me.

And because of that betrayal, something had happened to both of us that neither of us could remember.

\---

Adrian's POV

I arrived at the hospital and rushed into Styles' room.

“Hey, dude.” I greeted him, patting his shoulder.

“Hey, man. Where on earth have you been? The police have been waiting for you.”

“What do they want?” I asked, frowning.

“They want to get your testimony, and they said they have some questions for you.” Styles informed me.

I nodded, turning to leave the room when Styles caught my arm.

He turned me to face him before carefully checking my shoulder. His jaw clenched as he reached for the emergency button in the room.

I grabbed his hand before he could press it.

“I'm fine.” I groaned, but he removed my hand from his and gave me a stern glare before pressing the button.

A doctor and nurse came rushing in.

“Is something wrong?” The doctor asked.

I couldn't help but glare at Styles.

“My friend here is badly injured on his shoulder. Please check it out.”

The doctor turned to me, taking a look at my shoulder before nodding.

“Please come with us, sir.” The doctor gestured toward the door.

I gave Styles, who was now talking to the nurse, one last glare before following the doctor.

He led me to another room and treated my wound, giving me instructions on how to avoid making the injury worse.

Once we were done, I headed toward my car, hoping to collect the files on Raven and me and show all of them to Styles.

But when I unlocked my car, I froze.

The files were gone.

I stared at the empty seat, my heart beginning to pound.

Someone had taken them.

And I had no idea who.