The room was so quiet that Hero could hear his own heartbeat. Jade sat tied to the chair, and Hero sat in front of him — not as a friend anymore, but as someone who deserved answers.
Hero's eyes were cold and tired. "Tell me what really happened. No more lies."
Jade looked down at the floor. His voice came out weak, like it had been waiting for years to be spoken.
"Your father and I… we were never ordinary adventurers. Everything we did like every trip, every discovery , it wasn't because of passion or curiosity. We were hired."
Hero frowned, but didn't interrupt.
"A man named Lord James paid us to find dangerous treasures and hidden riches," Jade continued. "We never worked freely. We risked our lives because Lord James controlled everything. If we succeeded, he rewarded us. If we failed… we were nothing."
Hero didn't blink. His chest tightened.
"There were three of us," Jade said. "Me. Your father Jack. And… Joy."
Hero froze, confused. "My mother… was with you?"
Jade nodded slowly. "Yes. She didn't leave you to work abroad. She joined us. She loved your father too much to let him face danger alone."
Hero closed his eyes for a moment and the world he knew was falling apart.
Jade's voice trembled. "I loved her too… but she never loved me back. She loved Jack. And Jack was always the favorite. Always the strongest. Always the leader. Lord James trusted him more. People followed him more. And Joy chose him, not me."
Jade swallowed hard, his eyes filling with tears. "I wanted to be like him. I wanted someone to look at me the way she looked at him. I wanted to win… just once in my life."
Hero clenched his fists, waiting for the part he feared most.
"When we chased the Yamashita gold," Jade continued, "Lord James promised that whoever brings the treasure to him will receive everything — respect, power, money… and a place beside him."
Jade shook as he spoke. "Your father solved the final puzzle. He found the map. When I realized he was going to be the one to finish the mission, something broke inside me. I couldn't accept it. Not again. Not after a lifetime of being second."
Jade's voice cracked painfully. "I tried to steal the map from him. I told myself that if I bring the gold to Lord James, things will finally change. I'd finally matter. I'd finally be seen."
Hero's stare turned sharp like a blade.
"He refused to give me the map," Jade said, breathing fast. "We started shouting. I grabbed him. He pushed me away. I pulled him harder. We fought over the gun. I just wanted the map… I just wanted the victory… and—"
He cried.
"The gun went off. And Jack fell."
For a second, Hero couldn't breathe. His face showed pain, anger, disbelief — all at once.
"I didn't mean to kill him," Jade whispered. "I never planned to. But I didn't stop myself either. All I cared about was beating him. And it destroyed everything."
Hero's voice shook with anger. "Where was my mother? What happened to her?"
Jade wiped his face, shaking even more. "She saw it. She saw Jack fall. She grabbed the map to protect it from me. It ripped in half while we fought over it. She ran deeper into the cave with one half."
"And you?" Hero asked through clenched teeth.
"I pointed a gun at her," Jade confessed, voice breaking. "I wanted the map so badly… but I couldn't pull the trigger. I love her too much. She escaped. I never saw her again."
Hero's whole body trembled. "So you chased gold… and because of that, you destroyed my father… and separated me from my mother."
Jade nodded slowly. "Yes. And I regret it every single day."
Hero stepped closer, eyes burning. "What do you want now? Forgiveness?"
Jade shook his head. "No. I don't deserve forgiveness. I only want you to understand that even if I destroyed everything… I never wanted you dead. That's why I protected you all these years. Because I couldn't protect Jack."
Hero's voice cracked, soft but full of pain. "You didn't protect me. You ruined me."
Jade lowered his head. "If killing me will give you peace… I won't stop you. I won't fight."
Hero stood motionless. His fists shook, his breaths were uneven, and tears filled his eyes.
A part of him wanted to make Jade feel the same pain he carried for twenty years.
A part of him wanted to end everything right here.
But another part of him knew… no punishment could bring back the life that was stolen from him.
Hero stepped back slowly and walked to the other side of the room. He did not untie Jade. He did not look at him again. He sat on the floor with his back against the wall and held his father's necklace tightly in his hand.
For the first time since he was a child, Hero cried , silently, heartbroken, and alone.
The truth he searched for his whole life did not set him free.
It destroyed him.