He pointed toward Ethan.
"You were the memory."
Then he pointed toward Adrian.
"You were the strategy."
He smiled.
"Together, you were supposed to become the future of the Black Circle."
Ethan shook his head.
"We're not your property."
Arthur sighed.
"Unfortunately, you still don't understand."
He pressed another button.
The screen displayed a list of names.
Thousands of them.
Police officers.
Politicians.
Judges.
Business leaders.
Every person connected to the organization.
Arthur looked at Victoria.
"If you release this information, the entire city will collapse. Innocent people will lose their jobs. Families will be destroyed. Institutions will fall."
Victoria raised her weapon.
"Then they should have thought about that before committing crimes."
Arthur smiled.
"Still idealistic."
He turned toward Adrian.
"Give me the access sequence."
Adrian remained silent.
Arthur sighed.
"Very well."
He nodded toward the guards.
Two men dragged Robert toward the center of the courtroom.
Ethan stepped forward.
"Stop!"
Arthur looked at him.
"Then cooperate."
Adrian closed his eyes.
For several seconds, he remained motionless.
Then he began speaking.
A sequence of numbers.
A sequence of names.
A sequence of words that seemed completely meaningless.
Arthur smiled.
"Excellent."
He entered the sequence.
The archive opened.
A new screen appeared.
FINAL ACCESS GRANTED.
Arthur laughed.
"At last."
But Adrian suddenly smiled.
Arthur stopped.
"What?"
Adrian looked at Ethan.
"Now."
Ethan understood.
The sequence had not unlocked the archive.
It had activated a hidden transmission.
The courtroom monitors suddenly displayed a message.
ALL RECORDS COPIED.
ALL IDENTITIES VERIFIED.
PUBLIC TRANSMISSION INITIATED.
Arthur's smile disappeared.
"What have you done?"
Adrian stepped backward.
"Something you should have expected."
Arthur rushed toward the control panel.
Victoria raised her weapon.
"Don't move!"
Arthur stopped.
Then he slowly smiled.
"You think you've won?"
He looked toward Ethan.
"Ask your brother what happened to Lily."
Ethan froze.
"What?"
Arthur pressed a small button on his watch.
A video appeared.
It showed Lily sitting inside a dark room.
Her hands were tied.
Ethan rushed toward the screen.
"Lily!"
A man entered the video.
He removed his mask.
It was Captain Miller.
Ethan turned toward the courtroom entrance.
But Miller was standing behind them.
His weapon was pointed directly at Victoria.
Adrian stared.
"You betrayed us."
Miller smiled.
"I never stopped working for Arthur."
Ethan felt his blood turn cold.
Arthur laughed.
"Now, shall we finish the family reunion?"
Suddenly, a gunshot rang out.
Miller fell.
Everyone turned.
Robert was holding a weapon.
His hands were still trembling from the ropes.
Victoria looked at him.
"Robert?"
He lowered the gun.
"Sorry I'm late."
But before anyone could celebrate, the courtroom doors opened.
A man walked inside.
He wore a dark suit.
His face was familiar.
It was Elias Voss.
Arthur slowly turned.
For the first time that night, he looked afraid.
"Elias?"
The older man smiled.
"Hello, Arthur."
Arthur stepped backward.
"You should be dead."
Elias shook his head.
"I've heard that many times."
He looked toward Ethan.
"Son, there's one final thing you need to know."
Ethan stared at him.
"What?"
Elias pointed toward Arthur.
"He wasn't the one who created Project Genesis."
The courtroom fell silent.
Elias continued.
"The original creator was your mother."
Nobody moved.
Ethan stared at Elias.
"What did you just say?"
Elias looked toward Arthur.
"Twenty-three years ago, Project Genesis was created by a woman named Mara Bennett. She was a brilliant intelligence analyst who believed that information could prevent wars, expose corruption, and protect innocent people."
Ethan shook his head.
"My mother?"
Elias nodded.
"She designed the original system. Arthur provided the money. I developed the technology. But the project changed when people began using it for their own purposes."
Arthur laughed.
"Don't rewrite history, Elias."
Elias ignored him.
"Mara discovered that the organization was using her work to manipulate criminal investigations and eliminate witnesses. She tried to shut everything down."
Ethan looked toward Victoria.
"Then why did she disappear?"
Victoria lowered her weapon slightly.
"Because she knew someone had to survive to expose the truth."
Robert stepped forward.
"She made me promise to protect both boys."
Ethan looked at him.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
Robert's eyes filled with tears.
"Because I thought keeping you ignorant would keep you alive."
Ethan shook his head.
"You took away my entire life."
"I know."
Robert looked down.
"I was wrong."
For several seconds, Ethan couldn't speak.
Then he asked the question that mattered most.
"Where is my mother?"
Elias looked toward the courtroom doors.
"She's coming."
Suddenly, the doors opened.
An elderly woman entered.
Her hair was gray, and she walked slowly with the help of a cane.
But her eyes were unmistakable.
Ethan recognized them immediately.
"Mom?"
The woman stopped.
For a moment, she simply stared at him.
Then she began crying.
"Ethan."
He walked toward her.
"You're alive."
She nodded.
"I'm sorry."
Ethan embraced her.
He didn't know what to say.
He wanted to ask a thousand questions. He wanted to understand why she had lied, why she had separated him from his brother, and why she had allowed him to grow up believing his father was dead.
But at that moment, he was simply relieved to see her alive.
Adrian approached slowly.
"Mom?"
She turned.
"Adrian."
He stood in front of her.
"Why did you leave me?"
Mara took his hands.
"I never left you willingly."
"You let them take me."
"I tried to stop them."
"You promised you'd come back."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"I know."
Adrian looked away.
For a moment, the angry man who had spent years seeking revenge seemed to disappear.
He looked like a frightened little boy again.
Mara embraced him.
And for the first time in twenty-three years, the two brothers stood beside their mother.
But the story wasn't over.
Arthur suddenly began laughing.
Everyone turned.
He was standing beside the control panel.
Blood covered his sleeve, but his expression remained strangely calm.
"You really believe this is the end?"
Victoria raised her weapon.
"Step away from the controls."
Arthur smiled.
"You've exposed the Black Circle. You've revealed the identities. You've destroyed the archive."
He looked toward Ethan.