The General's Daughter: The Mission-Chapter 114: A Debt Written In Blood

Lara froze. The question landed abruptly—like a stone dropped into still water.

Blame the driver? She hadn’t even thought about it.

The truth was... she couldn’t. There was nothing there. No memory. No anger. No grief she could personally recall.

Just facts she had been told.

"The report says it was an accident," she said slowly. "So I don’t blame the driver."

Her voice remained steady.

"Besides... I lost my memory. I can’t remember anything from that time."

She glanced at him briefly.

"Even the people involved in the incident."

For a moment, the hallway seemed unusually quiet.

Asher lowered his gaze.

Then he inhaled deeply. When he spoke again, his voice was heavier.

"I wish you could remember."

Lara’s brows knit slightly.

"Why?"

Asher looked down at her. His eyes darkened with emotion so deep, Lara could not pull away.

There was no avoiding it now.

"I am the driver," he said quietly.

His voice was low, but the words seemed to echo along the silent hallway.

"The driver of the truck..."

His jaw tightened, the muscles along his face hardening as if each word cost him something.

"...that took the lives of your parents."

The confession settled between them like a weight that neither of them could move.

Heavy. Oppressive. Almost suffocating.

Lara stared at him in silence.

The hallway lights cast long shadows across the marble floor, and for a moment neither of them spoke.

Asher held her gaze, bracing himself.

Waiting. For anger. For shock. For hatred.

Anything.

But the woman standing before him remained unreadable.

And for the first time since Asher Zuvel had finally spoken the truth he had carried for a year—

he couldn’t tell if the woman before him was a victim...

or the beginning of his penance.

After a long moment, Lara spoke.

"I could see the guilt you carry," she said slowly.

Her voice was calm, almost thoughtful.

"But I have no memory of my parents... or the pain of losing them."

Her eyes did not leave his.

"Maybe when I regain my memory, I’ll know how to answer your question."

Asher’s chest tightened. The answer he feared...

and the answer he hoped for...

were both still somewhere in a past she could not remember.

Lara paused, then took a small step back.

"For now," she continued evenly, "let’s leave it at that."

Her hand reached for the doorknob behind her.

"An accident." Her gaze softened slightly, though her composure never broke. "and you didn’t intend for it to happen."

She slowly turned the handle.

"Good night, Mr. Zuvel."

The door began to open.

"Larissa Reyes."

His voice stopped her.

Lara paused. Then she turned back slowly.

She didn’t ask what he wanted. She simply lifted one eyebrow, silently waiting.

Asher met her gaze with unusual seriousness.

"If there’s anything I can do," he said, his voice firm now, "to make up for what you lost..."

He inhaled quietly.

"...just tell me."

For a moment, the air between them seemed to tighten again.

Then—

A door across the hallway swung open.

"Bro, don’t scare my sister like that."

Logan leaned casually against the doorway, arms folded across his chest, though the amusement in his eyes carried a hint of warning.

"It’s just one step short of saying you want to marry her to atone for your sins."

The joke landed like a stone tossed into still water.

Before anyone could respond—

Another door opened.

The master bedroom.

Ares stood at the doorway.

Tall. Silent. Domineering.

His expression was carved from pure stone.

His dark gaze moved once—from Logan... to Lara... and finally to Asher.

Then his voice cut through the hallway like steel.

"Don’t even think about it."

The hallway fell into a thick, uncomfortable silence.

No one moved.

Logan’s teasing smile slowly faded as he noticed the way Ares and Asher were staring at each other.

The air between the two brothers felt... dangerous.

Ares stepped fully out of the master bedroom.

The light behind him cast a long shadow across the polished marble floor, stretching toward where Asher stood. His expression remained cold, controlled—but the tension in his shoulders told another story.

"Asher," Ares said calmly. Too calmly.

"Walk with me."

It wasn’t a request.

Asher held his brother’s gaze for a moment, then nodded once.

"Alright."

Logan straightened slightly. His instincts immediately told him this conversation was not meant to have witnesses.

He glanced at Lara.

"Well," he muttered lightly, though the humor didn’t quite reach his eyes. "That’s my cue to disappear before someone throws a punch."

Lara didn’t answer.

She was watching the two brothers.

Something about the quiet intensity between them made the back of her neck prickle.

Ares turned and began walking down the hallway without waiting.

Asher followed.

Their footsteps echoed softly until they disappeared around the corner, leading toward the open balcony overlooking the gardens.

The night air outside was cool.

Ares stopped near the railing. He didn’t turn around immediately. Instead, he spoke while looking out into the darkness.

"What exactly were you trying to do back there?"

Asher leaned lightly against the balcony pillar.

"I was talking"

Ares finally turned.

His gaze was sharp enough to cut.

"You confessed to her."

It wasn’t a question.

Asher didn’t deny it.

"I told her the truth."

A muscle in Ares’ jaw twitched.

"You had no right."

"She deserved to know."

Ares took a slow step closer.

"That’s not the point." Ares’ voice sharpened.

"The point is you don’t get to reopen wounds she doesn’t even remember yet."

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

The night wind stirred the leaves in the garden below.

Then Asher said quietly,

"I wasn’t doing it for her."

Ares’ gaze darkened.

"I was doing it for me because I’m tired of carrying this burden."

The words landed hard.

Ares’ expression went completely still. He didn’t know how deep the psychological trauma Asher had experienced.

It had been one year already.

"You think this is about protecting me?" Asher continued. "Then, why bring her to the Zuvel Mansion? You even let Shay call her mother."

Ares’ voice dropped dangerously low.

"Watch your tone."

But Asher didn’t stop.

"I killed her parents, Ares."

The words came out harsh and raw.

"You don’t get to carry that weight for me."

For the first time, Ares’ composure cracked slightly.