"The escort vehicle lost control when the car you were riding, slamd at it’s side with brute force.
The words were calm.
But Lara noticed the way his fingers tightened around the glass.
"How many survived?" she asked.
Ares didn’t answer imdiately.
His silence was answer enough.
"The two died when the truck hit the tree beside the road. Asher was gravely injured and survived."
The words hung in the air.
Lara’s fingers paused on the rim of her glass.
"He was trapped inside the vehicle," Ares continued quietly. "When rescue teams arrived, he had already lost consciousness. Two broken bones in his leg. A fractured hip. Internal bleeding."
His gaze hardened slightly.
Lara lowered her eyes.
No wonder. Survivor’s guilt. Five lives in total were lost.
It was one of the heaviest psychological burdens a soldier could carry.
"He thinks it was his fault," Lara said softly.
The words ca out before Lara could stop herself.
For a mont, Ares simply stared at her.
Then he leaned back slowly in his chair.
"No, it was an accident." he said.
"But try telling him that," Lara said softly.
He took another drink. Ares exhaled slowly.
Silence filled the room again.
Outside, a faint gust of wind rustled the curtains.
Lara stared at the wine in her glass.
Sothing about the story unsettled her.
Not because of the tragedy. But because of the details.
Her mind began assembling pieces instinctively.
Military convoy. A general returning to the capital.
That instinctive analytical voice inside her mind stirred again.
Fragnts of logic. Psychology. Behavior patterns.
She didn’t know where the knowledge ca from.
But it felt familiar.
Her lips parted slightly.
"It wasn’t an accident." She murmured.
Slowly, he looked up at her.
"What did you say?"
Lara blinked.
She hadn’t ant to say it.
The thought had simply appeared in her mind like a reflex.
"I..."
She hesitated.
"I don’t know."
Ares studied her face carefully.
For soone with amnesia, Lara sotis said words that were strangely precise.
Ares didn’t pressed further but kept watching her.
Sothing about her instincts felt... trained. Not accidental.
But before he could question her further—
A sudden loud thud echoed from the hallway.
Both of them turned toward the door.
Then—
A sharp voice shouted.
"Ares!"
The door burst open. Asher stood at the doorway.
His breathing was uneven, and his hair was slightly disheveled, as if he had rushed over. The tightness in his jaw made the muscles along his face stand out sharply.
But his eyes were not on Ares.
They were fixed on Lara.
Then they moved slowly to the wine glass in her hand.
The air in the room turned cold.
"Ares," Asher said again, his voice low. "What exactly are you doing?"
Ares didn’t stand imdiately.
Instead, he leaned back in his chair, studying his brother with calm composure.
"We’re talking."
Asher’s gaze hardened.
"This late? Alone in your room?"
His eyes returned to Lara. She t his gaze steadily. There was no fear in her expression.
That only deepened Asher’s irritation.
"You should rest," Ares said evenly. "You’ve traveled from afar."
The comnt only made Asher more annoyed.
"Don’t change the subject."
The room fell into tense silence.
Lara placed her wine glass gently on the table.
"I will leave," she said calmly.
"No."
Both brothers spoke at the sa ti. They glanced at each other.
The tension sharpened instantly.
Lara watched them quietly. Then she stood and left. Decisively.
"Why are you here, Asher?" Ares asked.
Asher stepped further into the room.
Ares let out a soft, humorless laugh.
"Nothing. I am just protecting you, Brother. That woman is not simple."
Ares’ jaw tightened.
"You’re overreacting. She can’t even rember things."
His expression darkened further.
"It is precisely because of that. I am worried. What if she is here plotting against Shay or you?"
"She is not like that," Ares said.
The difference in their presence beca obvious imdiately.
Ares was calm but imposing.
Asher was tense, coiled like a wire pulled too tight.
"She lost her mory, yet she know many things," Asher snapped.
"And?"
"And you’re treating this like so casual evening."
Ares crossed his arms.
"I was asking her questions."
Asher’s eyes sharpened.
"What questions?"
Ares did not answer imdiately. That silence was answer enough.
"What did you tell her?"
"About you."
That answer made the tension snap tighter. Asher’s expression darkened.
Ares spoke before his brother could. "She noticed things."
Asher’s gaze shifted sharply.
"Noticed what?"
Ares looked directly at him.
"Your survivor’s guilt."
The room went still. Asher froze.
For a mont, the color drained slightly from his face.
"She told you that?"
"I didn’t need to," Ares said quietly.
"She figured it out."
Asher looked at his older brother again. This ti, his gaze was different.
Searching.
"How?"
"You bla yourself," he said softly.
Asher’s fingers curled slightly.
"Because you insisted on driving that day."
His breathing grew slower.
"You believe the others died because you were not careful."
Silence fell across the room like a dropped curtain.
Ares watched his brother carefully.
"How did she know that?" Asher asked quietly.
"I..."
For a mont he had no answer.
Then he said the only thing he could.
"I don’t know. Perhaps instinct."
The truth sounded weak even to his own ears.
But sothing about it felt real.
Asher studied hisface.
Then sothing strange happened.
The tension in his shoulders eased slightly.
"She analyzed people like a profiler," he said.
The word slipped out before he could stop it.
Ares froze.
Lara who went back to get her cell phone paused.
Profiler.
The word echoed in her mind.
A sudden sharp pressure struck her temple.
Images flickered briefly across her thoughts—
An interrogation room. Bright lights. A table.
Soone crying.
The flashes vanished as quickly as they appeared.
Lara pressed her fingers lightly against her forehead.
Ares noticed her imdiately.
"What’s wrong?"
"Nothing," she said quickly. "I left my cellphone. Ca back to pick it up."
But Asher was watching her very closely.
"You rembered sothing."
It wasn’t a question.
Lara lowered her hand slowly.
"No," she said.
But the uncertainty in her voice betrayed her.
Ares’ gaze sharpened.
And for the first ti that night—
Both brothers realized the sa thing.
Lara’s past might be far more complicated than any of them had imagined.
Outside the balcony doors, the wind picked up.
The curtains swayed slowly in the dark.
And inside the room—
Three people stood quietly.
Each of them began to suspect that the truth about Lara had only just begun to surface.
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