Chapter 11: The Man Mason Feared
I didn’t speak for a long time.
Because there are moments when your entire life rearranges itself.
A sentence can do that.
One sentence.
They were hunting you.
Not Mason.
Me.
I looked at the people around me.
At the hidden room.
At the photographs.
At my own face appearing in Mason’s records.
Five years of searching for my friend.
Five years of thinking I was chasing a mystery.
But maybe I was the mystery.
“Victor.””
My voice was low.
“What did Mason know about me?””
Victor didn’t answer.
That was becoming a pattern.
And I was tired of patterns.
I stepped forward.
“Tell me.””
He looked exhausted.
“Mason found something.””
“What?””
“Something about the night you met.””
I frowned.
“The night we met?””
Victor nodded.
“You always thought Mason found you because you joined the club.””
“Yes.””
“He didn’t.””
The room became silent.
“Mason found you because he was looking for you.””
I stared.
“Why?””
Victor looked toward the documents.
“Because you were connected to everything before you even knew it.””
I felt anger rise.
“No.””
The word came out harder than I expected.
“No. I was a mechanic. I was nobody.””
Victor shook his head.
“That’s what you were told.””
I looked at Renee.
She looked away.
Calvin looked uncomfortable.
Everyone knew.
Everyone except me.
I turned to Mia.
She looked scared.
That brought me back.
I couldn’t lose control.
Not with her watching.
I took a breath.
“Start from the beginning.””
Victor nodded slowly.
“Years ago, before the club, before Mason, before any of this…”
He stopped.
“You had a family.””
I froze.
“What?””
Victor looked at me.
“You weren’t always Bear Jackson.””
The room disappeared.
“What did you say?””
“You were born with another name.””
My hands went cold.
“No.””
“Mason found records.””
“No.””
“Bear—”
I slammed my hand against the table.
“Stop.””
Everyone went quiet.
Because I wasn’t angry anymore.
I was afraid.
I had spent my entire life knowing exactly who I was.
A man who built engines.
A man who protected his brothers.
A man who lost people.
But now someone was telling me even my own story was a lie.
Mia stepped closer.
“Bear?””
I looked down at her.
And I forced myself to calm.
“I’m okay.””
She didn’t believe me.
Children always know.
Victor opened a folder.
Inside was a photograph.
An old one.
A young woman.
A little boy.
And standing beside them…
A symbol.
The broken wolf.
“This was found with Mason’s files.””
I stared.
“That’s not me.””
Victor looked at me.
“Look closer.””
I did.
The boy was younger.
Different hair.
Different clothes.
But the eyes.
The eyes were mine.
I stepped back.
“No.””
Renee whispered:
“Bear…”
I looked at her.
“You knew?””
She looked devastated.
“I suspected.””
My voice cracked.
“Everyone knew except me.””
Nobody defended themselves.
Because they couldn’t.
Then the phone rang.
Mason.
I answered immediately.
“What am I?””
Silence.
Then his breathing.
“Bear…”
“Tell me.””
A pause.
“I wanted to tell you.””
“Five years ago?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you?””
His voice became quiet.
“Because if you knew the truth, you would stop running.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“You would come looking for me.””
“I did anyway.””
“Yes.””
His voice broke.
“But you came as Bear.””
I didn’t understand.
“Mason—”
“You came as the man you chose to become.””
A long silence.
Then:
“Not the man they created.””
My heart pounded.
“Who created me?””
Mason didn’t answer.
That was answer enough.
“Bear, listen.””
I closed my eyes.
“I’m listening.””
“The person who knows the most about you is not Victor.””
I looked at Victor.
“Not Renee.””
I looked at her.
“Not Calvin.””
My eyes moved around the room.
“Then who?””
Mason’s voice dropped.
“The person who raised you.””
My blood froze.
“I don’t remember my parents.””
“I know.””
“Because?””
“Because someone made sure you wouldn’t.””
The call went silent.
Then Mason whispered:
“Your memories were taken from you.””
I couldn’t move.
Behind me, Mia gasped.
The room suddenly felt too small.
Then a sound came from outside.
A car door.
Footsteps.
Someone approaching.
Victor looked toward the entrance.
His face changed.
“No.””
I turned.
“What?””
He looked terrified.
Not worried.
Terrified.
“That’s impossible.””
“Who?””
Victor whispered:
“The person who started all of this.””
The door opened.
Everyone froze.
A woman stepped inside.
Older.
Calm.
Carrying no weapon.
But everyone reacted like she carried the most dangerous thing in the world.
The woman looked directly at me.
Her eyes filled with tears.
“Benjamin.””
The name hit me like a bullet.
Nobody had called me that in my entire life.
I stared.
“Who are you?””
May you like
Her lips trembled.
“I’m your mother.””
