Chapter 292: Her Haunting Past

Artemio had long since disappeared, yet Lara remained rooted where she stood.

The garden had fallen quiet. Only the soft rustle of leaves and the distant hum of heavy machinery. She stared at the empty path where the general had walked away, her thoughts tangled so tightly she barely noticed the warmth spreading across her skin.

"Aren’t you coming inside?"

Ares’ gentle voice broke through her thoughts.

"The sun’s out. It’s getting hot."

She looked up.

The cumulus clouds that had blanketed the sky moments ago had drifted away, revealing brilliant blue skies and a blazing early afternoon sun.

"When did the weather clear...?"

She hadn’t even noticed.

Turning toward him, she frowned slightly.

"Why did you come out? Are you feeling better?"

"The dizziness is gone."

His answer was simple.

Without another word, he reached for her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers as naturally as if he’d done it a thousand times before.

Lara lowered her gaze.

Their joined hands looked... just right.

His palm was warm, the steady heat seeping into her cold fingers until they slowly relaxed. It felt strangely comforting and familiar.

Too familiar.

But Ares had never held her hand like this before.

Then why did it feel like coming home?

"Wasn’t that General Artemio Fuegerro?" Ares asked quietly.

Lara hummed in confirmation.

Her eyes drifted toward their intertwined hands while his remained fixed on her.

"What did he want from you?"

She slowly slipped her hand from his grasp.

The warmth vanished instantly.

Ares frowned almost imperceptibly, disappointment flickering across his face, but he said nothing.

Lara pulled out her phone and opened her voice recordings.

Her thumb tapped the newest file.

There was only static. Nothing but distorted white noise hissed through the speaker.

Her jaw tightened.

Damn it. She cursed silently.

She should have known.

Ares glanced at the phone before looking back at her.

"He is a general," he said softly. "Military intelligence is his specialty. If he wanted to protect himself from being recorded, he would know exactly how."

His words weren’t meant to justify Artemio. They were meant to ease her frustration.

Lara simply nodded.

She deleted the recording. It had become worthless, anyway.

"No wonder he wasn’t worried about talking out here."

Ares studied her for a moment before asking again,

"What did he want from you?"

"He reminded me of something..." she answered quietly.

"Something from the past."

Her eyes grew distant once more.

Neither of them spoke again until they reached Ares’ private lounge.

The Zuvel conglomerate owned the restaurant, and Ares had designed this secluded space to entertain important guests. It was elegant, quiet, and hidden from curious eyes.

"The past?" he repeated.

Something unreadable flickered across his obsidian eyes.

"There are a lot of things you don’t know about me, Ares."

There was exhaustion in her voice. Not physical exhaustion. The kind that came from carrying memories that never stopped haunting her.

"Sit."

He gently guided her toward the nearest couch.

After sitting beside her, he instinctively reached for her hands again.

He didn’t know when it started.

Recently, every time he saw her looking lost, his hand would find hers before he even realized he was moving.

As though reassuring her had become second nature.

"That’s only fair," he said with a small smile.

"We’ve only known each other for a few months."

His fingers tightened ever so slightly around hers.

"Then... can you tell me?"

Lara released a slow breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

Her eyes remained lowered.

"What if..."

Her voice trembled.

"What if I’m not a good person?"

Silence settled between them.

"What if..." she whispered.

"What if I’ve done terrible things?"

Ares looked at her as though the answer were obvious.

"Then there must have been a reason."

His thumb absentmindedly brushed over her knuckles.

"And honestly..."

A faint smile tugged at his lips.

"How bad could it be? It isn’t like you’ve killed someone before."

Killed someone.

The words exploded inside Lara’s head like a thunderclap.

Everything around her dissolved.

...

She was small again. So small she barely remembered how old she had been.

She was just a child and in grade school. That was all she knew.

The basement smelled of mildew, rust, and blood.

The concrete floor was damp beneath her shoes.

A single light bulb hung from the ceiling, swaying slightly and casting long, trembling shadows across the room.

A man knelt in the center.

His face was swollen beyond recognition.

Blood trickled from his split lips and broken nose, dripping steadily onto the floor.

"P-Please..."

His voice cracked between sobs.

"I still have a wife..."

He struggled to breathe.

"...and a daughter."

His shoulders shook violently.

"Please... give me another chance."

"I won’t fail again."

"I swear..."

A heavy boot slammed into his stomach. The sickening impact echoed through the basement.

The man folded over, coughing blood onto the floor.

Lara gasped.

Every instinct screamed at her to run. She took one shaky step backward.

"Stop."

Artemio’s voice sliced through the room like a blade.

Her tiny body froze. She wanted to run. She couldn’t. Her body would not obey her.

"Come here."

Her legs trembled so violently she thought she’d collapse.

Still...

She obeyed.

She always obeyed.

Artemio looked down at her without warmth. Without pity.

He placed a handgun into her tiny hands.

It was far too heavy.

Her fingers shook uncontrollably.

The pistol slipped from her grasp and clattered against the concrete floor.

The sharp metallic sound echoed through the basement.

Artemio’s face darkened.

"Pick it up."

His voice remained calm.

That frightened her more than if he had shouted.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down her face as she crouched to retrieve it.

The cold metal felt impossibly heavy in her small hands.

"Lara."

She flinched.

"Do you know what today is?"

"I..."

Her teeth chattered.

"I don’t know..."

"Today...is the anniversary of your mother and brother’s deaths."

His voice was unnervingly gentle.

The words crushed her. Her knees buckled. She collapsed onto the cold concrete floor.

Every year...

Every single year...

This day came. And every year was worse than the last.

If it wasn’t relentless training until her muscles gave out...

It was being abandoned alone in the forest overnight.

Artemio always found a new way to make her suffer.

He told her the same thing every year.

You should have died instead of them.

The one who survived should pay for their lives.

"Pick up the gun, Lara."

Sobbing uncontrollably, she used both hands to lift the weapon.

It felt far too heavy for a child.

She stumbled toward Artemio with slow, trembling steps.

Then he looked her in the eyes.

His voice was cold.

Emotionless.

"Kill him."