Chapter 137 - A Fantasy

Hearing his late son's voice in the video, Major General Ethan Arista darted his eyes to the laptop. Because the height of the table was just his knee level, he quickly bent his knees to have a clear look at the video.

"What is this?" His eyes grew wide at the cruel acts that were shown in the video. "Why is Marvin like this?!" He grunted as he hardly squeezed the laptop.

One. Two. Five minutes passed and he couldn't watch it anymore! The helpless screams of his only son continuously echoed in his ears, driving him to the brink of insanity. With a huge force, he closed the laptop and abruptly stood up.

He went back and forth in the room, repeatedly. Then he suddenly turned to his father who was sitting there with a pale face, without a single movement as if he was paralyzed!

"Father." He whispered. His eyes and expression were full of pain. "Did that really happen? Yelena is not telling the truth, right?" He hopefully asked. Deep inside, he knew that it was not a joke! But he couldn't believe it.

The General couldn't utter a single word. He didn't even look like a living person for now!

His father's silence made the Major General more anxious! He bent his knees beside his father and holds his hand. "That place is inside the Training Area, Father. Only military personnel can enter. 'Marvin suffered these things during his training years.' Is that what Yelena is saying? But these kinds of torture is forbidden!" His voice was desperate and pleading.

General Logan Arista closed his eyes. Though he was always a tough and strong man, his only grandson's suffering which was shown in the video was enough to draw out his tears. As tears rolled down his face, he tightly clenched his fist! 

When his father remained quiet, Major General Ethan Arista couldn't hold back anymore. "No. I need to know the details." He shook his head many times before he stood up and rushed out of the room to find his daughter.

He looked for her in the vast mansion and after almost ten minutes of searching, he finally saw her in her room. He closed the door and approached her.

Yelena was sitting near the window when her father entered her room. She heard the sound of her room door being opened and closed, she also heard her father's footsteps but she sat still in the armchair, refusing to pay attention to the Major General.

Though Major General Ethan ran around in almost every corner of the house, searching for his daughter, he couldn't bring himself to do that when he saw her impassive behaviour. Guilt was slowly swallowing him from the inside.

He slowly approached her and halted when she was just two steps away. He narrowed his eyes and realized that she was holding a photo frame. It was a photo of herself and her late brother.

Standing quietly for a while, he finally brought himself to talk. "Yelena, please explain that video."

"There's nothing to explain, Father. Everything is shown there." Yelena promptly replied. She didn't look at her father even once.

"Who did that? Tell me. Who did such heinous acts to Marvin?" Major General Ethan asked. He felt the pressure more and more as each second passed!

"I don't know. If I know the one who did that to my brother, I would have already killed him." Yelena grunted. She narrowed her eyes at the photo in her hands. Seeing the smiling face of Marvin in the photo, it only made her more thirst for revenge!

Feeling helpless, Major General Ethan could only stand there, clenching his fist yet kept his mouth shut. However, his mind was fully occupied by his late son and his daughter who was sitting before him.

"You never listened to me, Father. You always claimed that I was not in my right mind because I cannot accept Marvin's death. Even when I asked you to have a thorough investigation, you brushed me off. That's why I'm trying my best to reveal the truth in my own way." Yelena rose from her seat and turned to her father.

"You don't have to get involved. I can continue fighting alone like I always did. I already told you while I was in the hospital, right? 'When I show you evidence, don't regret it.' I clearly told you that." She said, meeting her father's gaze.

"Even when Marvin was alive, you never care enough to notice his sufferings. I was the only one who noticed that something was wrong with him but... " Yelena paused, thinking of the fact that always haunted her. "I was too young and weak at that time. That's why he couldn't share his worries with me and always pretended to be fine and happy. If you are not there when we need you, what is the use of having parents? We are the same as orphans!"

Major General Ethan stood still, unable to utter anything! He knew that his daughter was right and that made him ashamed of himself.

"Yelena." 

The Captain darted her eyes to the door when she heard her grandfather's voice. The old General walked in and make his way to his granddaughter. At his sight, Yelena tried her best to behave normal and forced a little smile. "Grandpa."

General Logan stood in front of his granddaughter and gently touched her face. "You poor girl. How much did you suffer alone?" He whispered as he glanced at her with pity.

That video will torment her the most and the General knew that! Ever since she was a little girl, her brother was her world! How broken was she when she saw the video! Thinking of these, the General felt like a sword was planted in his heart! It hurt so much!

"I'm sorry you have to see that, Grandpa. I want to keep it a secret until the end but - "

"It's fine. Everything will be fine." The General hugged his granddaughter. "I should be the one to apologize. I was a Lt. General at that time and I should have pay more attention to my grandson. It's my fault."

The General's warm hug made Yelena felt emotional. Trying to suppress her tears, she took a deep breath. "It's not your fault, Grandpa. Wait for just a while and I will find out the culprit. I had dug this for the last six years and I'm almost there."

"What is happening here?" All three persons inside the room darted their eyes to the door when they heard Mrs. Arista's voice.

The mother was standing at the door with a baffled face. She had no idea what was going on in her house.

Yelena quickly pulled back when she saw her mother. She couldn't stay here any longer. She must leave.

"I came to have dinner but I need to go now. I will come again another day." She promptly said and stormed out of her room. Ignoring her mother who was calling her name, she went to her grandfather's room, took her purse and the pen drive and left her family mansion right away.

Rushing out of her family mansion, Yelena felt lost. Driving her jeep car around with no destination for more than an hour, she unconsciously finds her car in front of the gate of a cemetery. It was where her brother's body was buried. By the time she reached there, it was already 7 and it was dark everywhere.

The rain started falling half an hour ago and she didn't even have an umbrella but she didn't care. She gets off her car and walked inside the cemetery. Walking past a few graves, she finally reached Marvin's grave and sat next to it. Leaning backwards, she pressed her back against the side of the granite tombstone.

Sitting quietly for a few minutes under the cold rain, she finally spoke up. "Marvin, today, I went against your teachings. But it already happened countless times after your death and you might already get used to it now. You always told me not to disrespect Father and to understand him but I cannot do that."

"Why did you never blame Father? If he paid attention to you even just a little, everything will be fine. Even when I complain to you, you always told me to understand him. You might not know but he doesn't deserve our understanding."

Yelena paused and slightly smiled when one thing entered her mind. "These days, I think about you much more than before. I even have one fantasy. Would you like to hear it? If you were here, you will surely scold me saying that it's nonsense."

She glanced at her brother's name which was written on the front of the tombstone and started saying her fantasy. "If there is a reincarnation like it happened in the world of novels, I want us to be siblings again. But it's not just that."

Her slight smile faded when she continued, "I will be the older one in our next lives and I will be a reliable older sister for you. If that ever comes true, I will protect you and shield you from everything. You won't have to die that way again."