Chapter Quote:
"Some truths are razors. That's why we wrap them in silk before placing them into trembling hands." — Anonymous
Scene: Nina's Apartment | Early Evening
The room was quiet except for the faint ticking of the antique wall clock. Nina sat on the couch, legs tucked under her, arms crossed tightly around herself.
Her mother stood by the window, unmoving. The golden sunset painted her silhouette in warm light, but her face looked hollow, weary — like a woman haunted by her own shadows.
Nina: (softly)
"You said you wanted to talk. I'm here. Talk."
Her mother turned. Her eyes searched her daughter's face like she hadn't seen it in years. She sat slowly across from Nina, fingers trembling as she held a worn velvet pouch in her hand.
Nina's Mother:
"There's a reason I kept us hidden. A reason I ran."
Nina: (voice barely above a whisper)
"I deserve to know. No more pieces. Please."
Her mother pulled out a folded letter. Yellowed edges, the scent of lavender and time. She didn't hand it over. She just held it.
Nina's Mother:
"Before you were born, I loved someone… fiercely. Too fiercely. He wasn't mine. I knew it. But I stayed, thinking love would fix everything."
Nina:
"Dad?"
Her mother shook her head slowly.
Nina's Mother:
"No. Not him. Not the man who raised you. Your biological father… He was powerful. Dangerous, even in silence."
Nina's brows furrowed. Her pulse quickened.
Nina:
"What do you mean dangerous?"
Her mother's voice cracked.
Nina's Mother:
"He played with people. Hearts, lives, truth. I was one of them. He made promises, said he'd leave his wife. But he never did. And when I got pregnant with you… I became a problem."
A tear slid down Nina's cheek. "So you ran?"
Nina's Mother:
"I didn't want you born into shame, into competition, into his cold legacy. I didn't want you growing up with half-truths and half-love."
She stood and moved to a small trunk near the shelf. Opened it. Inside were documents, faded pictures, old chemical containers, a crumpled business card.
Nina's Mother:
"He wanted to control everything. Even your DNA."
Nina stood, stunned.
Nina:
"What is this? What do you mean?"
Her mother handed her a folded paper — a research report, coded, signed with initials Nina didn't recognize. It had her name scribbled beside a barcode.
Nina's Mother:
"You were part of something. Not a science experiment — but close. His company, years ago. He was obsessed with genetic markers, bloodlines… heirlooms passed not through gold, but through chromosomes."
Nina stared at her mother, horrified. "You're telling me I was… part of some medical… trial?"
Nina's Mother:
"No. Not a trial. An obsession. I didn't realize what he was doing until it was too late. The drugs he gave me while I was pregnant. The blood tests. The constant monitoring. I thought he cared. He was just… tracking."
Silence.
Nina:
"Tracking what?"
Her mother looked down.
Nina's Mother:
"The purity of a line. The control of it. There were others too. I think… one of them is already close to you."
Her eyes darted to Nina's expression but she stopped herself. She couldn't say it. Not yet.
Nina's hands clenched. "Who? Who else?"
Her mother looked away.
Nina's Mother:
"It doesn't matter right now. What matters is that you know the kind of man your father was."
Nina:
"And where is he now?"
Her mother turned fully away from her.
Nina's Mother:
"Dead. As far as the world knows. But even in death, men like him leave roots."
Nina took the documents with shaky hands.
Nina: (whispering)
"Why tell me this now?"
Her mother walked to her, pressed her palm softly to her daughter's cheek.
Nina's Mother:
"Because you're walking toward a storm without knowing where it started. And the closer you get to Liu, the more the past will try to repeat itself."
Nina's breath caught. "What does Liu have to do with this?"
Her mother opened her mouth… paused…
Then closed it again.
Nina's Mother:
"I'll tell you… soon. Just… promise me one thing."
Nina:
"What?"
Her mother met her eyes, a deep sadness swirling in hers.
Nina's Mother:
"When the truth finally opens its mouth… don't let it swallow your heart whole."
The room went still. The sun had set. And Nina was left not with clarity, but with a heavier fog.
Behind her, her mother wept quietly—for the truth she couldn't say, and the daughter she might lose when it all came out.
FADE OUT