Yelena stared at Colonel Arias who hadn't uttered a single word. His expression was a mixture of shock and anxiety.

After almost a minute, she turned away and narrowed her eyes at the report which she holds beneath the table. "Your reaction tells me that you know about this." She muttered.

​​

Colonel Arias struggled for words. He saw the disappointment in her eyes and he didn't want that. So, he decided to come clean. "Listen to me, Yelena. It's true that I have my suspicions but I have no proof. What is the proof you are talking about?" He glanced at her, demanding an answer.

"Colonel, don't you know that I'm not in a position to trust anyone? It already shook me to the core when I learned that Colonel Maverick was involved in this. Later, he was murdered and now... " She paused as it was not easy for her to utter what she was about to say. After a few seconds, she said, "Now, I realized that the one behind everything is none other than the father of my best friend. I don't know who to trust anymore."

Just like Alonzo shattered the trust of her and Felix, she was afraid that the same thing would happen again. She had enough of this!

"Then I will explain everything to you." Arias firmly said and continued. "When your brother and Eric Flavian died, I find it very strange. After a while, Nolan Iselin disappeared without a trace. The incidents remind me of the time when the three gets injured and were hospitalized for weeks."

"During that time, the Lt. General was the one who was in charge of us. He was the best supervisor we could ever ask for but not in one thing. He never neglects us but when the three friends were hospitalized, he didn't do anything. There was no investigation either. Besides, they were hospitalized in a separate room and no one was allowed to visit them."

While they were in Agrana, Arias had told her about how they were hospitalized. Even at that time, it was news for her. What really strange was that their family members weren't informed of anything even though they were hospitalized for weeks! Even when they talked on the phone, the three friends never mentioned anything.

"I find everything strange but I had no idea about what happened. To add more to that, Maverick changed and even broke our friendship. He was like a new person since then." Arias continued.

"Then what happened after that?" Yelena asked. She noticed how hard it was for the Colonel to mention his late friend.

Arias shook his head. "Nothing." He muttered. "Things were very normal even until we finished our training. But after we became a Commissioned Officer, two of the three friends died and one disappeared. It triggered my suspicions again but even at that time, I cannot guess anything. I have no idea."

"Time passed by quietly and now, it's been 6 years," Arias uttered. "A few days before he died, Maverick came to me at night. He was quite drunk too. He complained about how he was completely under the control of the Lt. General. That's when my suspicions grew stronger than ever. I even confront the Lt. General but... he had his ways."

Arias glanced at Yelena and heavily sighed. "You don't know him at all, Yelena. He is not powerful just because of his rank and achievements. Throughout the military, he has the best reputation. Every soldier trusts and respects him. There are thousands of soldiers who look up to him as if he was their god. I... " Arias paused and narrowed his eyes. He finds it so hard to continue! "I was also one of them." He finally muttered yet his voice trailed off. He was so ashamed of himself!

At his last sentence, Yelena's eyes flickered. She narrowed her eyes and noticed how he nervously clenched his fingers. Suddenly, she realized what he said while they were in Agrana. He said that the one who inspired him to join the army was an Army Officer whom he met while he was young. What's more? The Officer in question was still in service. Was that person... Lt. Gen. Haric Geraci?!

Arias finally shifted his gaze back to Yelena and when he observed her expression, he nodded his head. "He was once my hero, the one who saved my life. I joined the army to follow in his footsteps. Do you know what's my biggest dream as a soldier?" He asked and sneered a little. He was mocking himself!

"To get his recognition." He uttered. "That's all I wanted. I want him to be proud of me. I want him to think that he did a great job by saving me. That's all."

When he remained quiet, Yelena observed him without saying anything. This young Colonel... he lost his friend. The one he admired and respect to a great extent turned out to be the biggest fake! What's more? He was the father of the one he deeply loved! He might even be the one who killed his friend too! Maybe it's too much for him. His eyes showed how painful and broken he was!

Somehow, he reminded her of Felix and that created a tingling pain in her heart.

"If you feel that way, why did you say that you will do it? You are not capable of exposing the truth." Yelena said, glancing at the Colonel all the time.

"Then what about you, Yelena?" Arias promptly asked her. "Are you confident? You are well aware of the consequence."

The seemingly simple question shook Yelena more than one could imagine! She nervously squeezed her clothes beneath the table, unable to utter even a single word! What about Ella? This was the only thing that's on her mind!

After what seemed to be forever, she finally placed the report on the table. "This is the proof I'm talking about." She said in a low voice, refusing to answer him.

With a bit of hesitation, Arias reached out his hand and take the report. He looked at the contents but he was quite confused.

"While I was in my family villa in the countryside, someone sent me a video. A few weeks ago, I realized that the one who sent the video to me was Colonel Maverick." Yelena said.

"Then the video is... "

"It's a video of my brother and his two friends. They were tortured and continuously threatened not to say what they see." She clenched her fist at the mention of the gruesome video. No matter how much she watched it, the pain was still the same as the first time she watched the video!

"I record the Lt. General's voice last night and asked someone from the forensic lab to check if it matches with the voice of the man from the video. That's the result." She added.

As soon he heard this, Colonel Arias quickly look at the report. His heart sank when he read the result that said the voice matched. He had always hoped that it was just a suspicion and nothing more! Now that evidence was presented right in front of him, his heart crumbled!

He pressed his left elbow on the table and covered his eyes! The pain was killing him from the inside!

"That mysterious injury my brother and his friends suffered, the reason why they were hospitalized for weeks is shown in the video. Lt. General Haric was the one who inflicted those wounds upon them. How could he possibly held an investigation?" Yelena said. Just the thought of the video tormented her yet she could barely maintain her composure.

Arias felt so hopeless! From what Yelena said, it's clear that Maverick witnessed the three friends being tortured! That means he even took a video of it! But what made him stuck in the Lt. General's grip?! He didn't know why!

Was the video the reason why Maverick changed? Maverick was well aware of how much he idolized and look up to the Lt. General. Maybe that's why he didn't want to be friends anymore! Why? Was he afraid to hurt his feelings by telling him the true face of his hero? But Arias knew one thing. He might not believe it even if Maverick tells him the truth and that tormented him more!

He thought how much Maverick would have suffered being caught up with all these incidents. It would be too much for him! All these were adding to Arias guilt.

"You asked me if I was confident. I will give you an answer, Colonel." Yelena muttered and narrowed her eyes at the report. "I'm not. I'm scared of many possible consequences but... I made a promise to my late brother."

"I promised that no matter who they are, I will make sure that they pay for their crimes. So, I will never give up on this." She recalled how her brother refused to give in but finally did when he was threatened with the life of his younger sister, herself. "I know it's dangerous but I don't care. Marvin always taught me to be brave."

Her expression became very firm and determined as she said, "My brother was not a coward and neither am I."