Kiara's POV – The Truth Unfolds
The room was silent, thick with an eerie familiarity I couldn't explain. My breath hitched as I took a small step back, my gaze darting between the four people before me. Their eyes held something I couldn't decipher—pain? Longing? Recognition?
But how?
My chest rose and fell rapidly. They had called me Athena. And now, this woman, with trembling hands and tear-filled eyes, had just called herself my mother.
I shook my head. "No… No, that's not possible." My voice cracked.
The woman's fingers tightened around my arm, her touch warm yet desperate. "We can't lose you again. We lost Athena once, and we will not lose you again."
Her words made my blood freeze. My throat felt dry, and a dull ringing filled my ears.
Again?
"You came back home." Her voice was barely a whisper, yet it slammed into me like a tidal wave. "Can't you see? You can't even recognize your own mother?"
Mother.
