The Return of La-Heri, 107.

Damián stared intently at General Hunter, his expression unchanging, as the latter tried to explain the situation. Aster and Mason stood beside Damián, equally attentive. When the General finally stopped speaking, Damián, with a firm and unwavering voice, said: 

— No.

 Hunter nodded his head even before fully processing Damián's refusal. His face took on a grave expression as he leaned forward, clasping his hands between his knees.

— You must go back, child — he said.

Damián's face hardened despite his flushed complexion. He squinted his eyes and covered them with his arm, as if trying to block out the painful memories that began to resurface.

— Will you come with me? — the General asked, his voice laden with concern.

Damián shut his eyes tightly. A sudden melancholy overwhelmed him, extinguishing his unshakeable facade of composure like sand snuffing out a flame. These bouts of sadness had haunted him since that fateful night. He would never forget.

What would he find by returning to something akin to his true childhood? What could he salvage by retracing the paths of his youth, paths that were now likely paved over, leveled, and covered with debris left by crimes and violence? The magic of that time was gone, both the white and the black. Everything had fallen apart the night a runaway car collided, and the green moving truck approached rapidly, growing in his field of vision. His mother's scream was abruptly silenced, final and irrevocable.

Damián couldn't forget.

He opened his eyes, staring at General Hunter with a resolute expression.

— My family is gone. Aster is my only family now. Nothing can change that.

Hunter remained silent for a moment, absorbing Damián's words. He then nodded slowly, understanding the depth of the young man's pain and resolve.

— I understand — Hunter said softly. — But... I promised Benjamin I would find you.

Damián shook his head, frustration beginning to bubble beneath his calm surface.

— Oh, you remember? — said the General, now raising his voice, finally understanding the young man's refusal.

— I didn't assume that… — Hunter began — as if facing a war trophy. — The General laughed, but his mouth was dry. — This is terrible.

However, Damián interrupted him.

— Anyway. We all have our nightmares — Damián said, with more ardor than sincerity.

The Kadman mansion's grand hall, bathed in the golden light of the sun, was a spectacle of elegance with its white, gold, and touches of red tones. The walls reflected a soft glow, creating an almost ethereal atmosphere. Malcolm, Elizabeth, and Adam Kadman, Greta May, Gunnar May, Callum Campbell, Sarah Campbell, and Beatrice Phillips were present, observing the growing tension.

— Hey, come back here! — General Hunter shouted, breaking the tense silence in the room.

All eyes turned to Aster and Damián. Aster seemed to be murmuring inaudible words, while Damián maintained a firm expression.

— Send my regards to him — Damián said as he walked away.

The General frowned.

— Where are you going, boy? — he roared.

Hunter couldn't accept what he had just discovered. To him, it wasn't possible, it couldn't be true.

— You've been alive all this time and did this for what? To protect your kidnappers? — Hunter asked, his voice heavy with emotion. — This isn't just a rebellious act, son. It's a cruel gesture. Benjamin cries with a broken heart to this day. And you refuse to go back home?

Aster, standing beside Damián, intervened with a firm voice.

— General Hunter, that's not how things happened. It wasn't his fault. They were difficult circumstances.

Hunter turned to Aster, perplexed.

— Aster… — he began, but was interrupted by Damián.

— Let it go — Damián said brusquely.

Hunter walked abruptly, raising his hands. The people in the room turned, alarmed by the rising tone.

— You can't just let it go! — Hunter roared. — You have to go back! You have to understand that your family needs you, that Benjamin needs you!

Damián felt the anger flicker in his eyes.

— My family is gone. Aster is my only family now. I don't need Benjamin Williams!

He turned abruptly, walking toward the door. General Hunter, now clearly furious, shouted after him.

— Damián, you have to go back!

The room was silent, everyone present observing, shocked and curious, as the truth finally came to light.

— What is happening here? — Adam Kadman asked wisely, breaking the silence.

Hunter looked at Damián with an expression of pain and frustration.

— Tell them, tell them who you are! Explain to the Kadman family what you are hiding.

Damián stopped and, without turning around, replied:

— Oh… tell them yourself, General, that you act in the name of the armed forces, for personal and less than noble reasons. But fulfill your duty, Hunter. Do what you think is best.

The tension in the hall increased, everyone waiting for the next move.

The silence in the grand hall of the Kadman was palpable. Everyone present looked at General Hunter, anxiously waiting for his next word. The tension in the room was like a question mark.

Hunter took a step forward, his face a mask of unyielding determination. He looked at each person present before turning back to Damián.

Before he could speak, Beatrice Phillips burst out in an explosion of indignation.

— They are involved in the murders! — Beatrice shouted, her eyes wide with fury. — They are dangerous, do you see this, Sarah? I was right from the beginning!

Beatrice's screams echoed through the hall, and the authority and desperation in her voice cast a heavy shadow over everyone. Malcolm Kadman tried to intervene, but Beatrice continued, now turning to Greta May.

— Don't you see, Greta? Your daughter's killer is under the same roof!

Greta, who was standing next to Elizabeth, changed her expression. Her eyes, once full of support, now showed a mixture of shock and distrust. Gunnar, next to his mother, immediately took a defensive stance, his posture rigid.

— This is absurd! — Adam Kadman shouted, his voice resonating through the hall. — Damián is innocent, I will not allow unfounded accusations against him and the honor and decency of the Kadman family!

The hall became a chaos of raised voices and accusations. Sarah Campbell, who had remained silent until then, stepped forward, approaching her son, Callum Campbell, with a look of concern.

— Callum, what is happening here? — she asked, her voice trembling with worry.

Callum began to explain a misunderstanding, but the growing confusion drowned out his words.

It was then that General Hunter, in an authoritative tone, intervened again.

— Enough! — he roared, his voice cutting through the tumult. — The young ones are innocent, Mrs. Phillips. I give you my word!

The room fell into a tense silence. Hunter turned to Damián, who watched him with an inscrutable expression.

— Very well, Damián — said Hunter, his voice firm. — I will fulfill my duty.

He took a deep breath and continued:

— Damián Lyon-Bowes, or rather, La-Heri Williams, is the missing son of Benjamin Williams, the former Prime Minister of country Y.

A collective gasp echoed through the hall. The revelation dropped like a bomb, leaving everyone stunned. Elizabeth Kadman was the first to ask.

— Is this true, Damián? — she asked, her voice trembling slightly.

Damián turned slowly to Elizabeth, his gaze gentle but resolute.

— It is true — he confirmed. — Once, I was called La-Heri Williams. But that was a long time ago...

— La-Heri was kidnapped many years ago, and his family has been searching for him ever since — Hunter explained. — The truth finally came to light when genetic material was provided in search of genetic evidence during the investigations that declared him and Aster innocent. Damián's DNA sample was identified and positively tested as La-Heri Williams, son of Benjamin Williams. Benjamin's data is highly confidential, which is why I'm here; the entire investigation is secret.

The room remained silent as everyone digested the information. Malcolm Kadman, visibly surprised, took a step toward General Hunter, seeking more information since he knew Benjamin Williams.

Damián took a deep breath, feeling his chest tighten, and exhaled with a trembling sigh. His gaze fixed on General Hunter, who watched attentively. The tension in the air was palpable, and everyone in the hall held their breath, as if one movement could break the fragile balance of the situation.

— Damn it — Damián exclaimed, running a hand through his hair in frustration. — It's better to call me Damián, General Hunter.

The silence was heavy, like a dense fog that swallowed every word. Damián closed his eyes for a moment, trying to gather the strength to continue.

— La-Heri died many years ago, and… Benjamin Williams didn't lose his son because he was kidnapped. He abandoned a child in loneliness, in the cold, and in silence.

Damián's breathing was labored, and he seemed to be struggling against a tide of emotions. The eyes of those present were fixed on him, full of expectation and fear.

— And since today is a day to speak of the dead and the past… — Damián paused, as if searching for the right words. — Heavens, you must have… Ah, damn it… But anyway, I introduce you to Frances. — He spoke with a tone of surprise that contradicted the seriousness of his words.

— Frances was his name, and we met at the boarding school. Frances was already there when I arrived. — Damián's voice trembled slightly as he recalled those dark days.

He looked directly at the General, his eyes shining with a mixture of pain and anger.

— When I met him, he was just a melancholy child. Although he could speak, he didn't say much — Damián revealed, his voice low but firm.

In the Great Hall, the silence was absolute, as if even the air had stopped to listen.

— We met at the institute. We shared the same room. — Damián's voice was laden with irony. — Why were we together? We had lives in common; children had things in common. We were both orphans of a father. Frances was melancholy and sad, and La-Heri didn't speak due to the trauma of his father's death.

Damián's gaze turned cynical as he stared at the General.

— In fact, I can't understand or imagine the reason, why, what drives a father to take a child who doesn't speak, who can't defend himself, and leave him alone with strangers.

He paused, allowing his words to resonate in the hall.

— Frances and I, on the other hand, were always together because we weren't like the other students. We never ventured out on weekends to be with family. Despite few words, we reached an excellent non-verbal understanding. The lack of words between us did not prevent our friendship from growing, expressed through gestures and looks.

Damián took a deep breath before continuing.

— But unlike Benjamin Williams, who never returned after abandoning his son at the Institute, Frances's father always visited him. He never took him out on weekends or holidays, but he visited him constantly.

Damián's words left Beatrice in a state of shock. She was pale, visibly shaken by the revelation.

Damián continued, his voice now softer but still laden with emotion.

— One day, after a visit from his father, Frances returned excited. His father had announced he would be leaving soon and promised Frances a new mother and siblings.

He paused, looking at his hands as if reliving that moment.

— I can't remember all the details, but they only wanted to take Frances. La-Heri was only taken by mistake. When I woke up, we were in a car and I heard something about a rescue because the kidnapping had been reported to the authorities.

The tension in the air increased with each word from Damián, and everyone present was in absolute silence, absorbing every detail.

— I think we spent two days with the kidnappers in the car. At the end of the second day, one of them said it would all end that night because they couldn't just return a child.

Damián looked directly at the General, his eyes reflecting the pain of old memories.

— Frances begged, cried, and pleaded to go to the bathroom. When we got out of the car, we were told not to go far. As soon as we were out of the criminals' reach, Frances grabbed my hand and started running. Then I heard a loud sound of water getting closer. He pulled me, and we fell.

Damián took a deep breath, trying to control the emotion in his voice.

— When I woke up, I was in a strange place, and Frances was taking care of me. That's how I met my "father" and "mother," who saved us.

He paused, the weight of his words bearing down on him.

— But after a while, I realized something was wrong with Frances. That's when I understood that he didn't remember anything. He never remembered anything. Meanwhile, I remembered everything but couldn't speak. After a few days, the couple who took us in, the Gumps, taught me a valuable lesson about compassion, protection, love, and care.

Damián looked at the General, his eyes filled with determination.

— Yes, there was a father, a father who was not willing to take care of his son. There was a child who remembered nothing, and only I knew his name was Frances. If Benjamin didn't care to take care of his own son, would he care for another child who remembered nothing?

He paused, letting the question hang in the air before continuing.

— I'm sorry, but La-Heri did not die because of a kidnapping he wasn't even a victim of. He died because he was abandoned.

Beatrice was terrified. She would be exposed, her life destroyed. She had been deceived, thinking all her life that the children were dead. The perfect crime was unraveling before her, and Simon had tricked her. For a moment, she was gripped by a cold fury that froze her bones. But the child remembered nothing; this was her only chance. Her crime had no witnesses; there was only one opportunity.

With cunning, desperation, and disguise, Beatrice did not give up. She approached Aster with uncertain steps, her eyes shining with desperate madness.

Aster noticed Beatrice's approach, noting the insanity in her gaze. He took a few steps back, feeling the growing threat. When she began to mutter, her voice trembling and her eyes fixed on him, Aster felt a chill.

— Frances, it's you, it's really you — Beatrice murmured, her voice shaking with emotion. — Your father searched for you all these years…

Beatrice reached out a trembling hand, trying to touch Aster, but he pushed her away forcefully, his face contorted with aversion.

— Let me go! — Aster shouted, feeling as if he were being grabbed by a demon with large claws.

Aster's push was stronger than he intended. Beatrice staggered backward, her eyes wide with shock, before simply collapsing to the floor, unconscious.

The hall fell into absolute silence, everyone present caught in a state of shock and confusion. Aster's breathing was rapid, and he looked around, trying to process what had just happened. Elizabeth quickly approached, giving orders for a doctor to be called to care for Beatrice.