Chapter 1660: She’s not my mother

[Bennet Mansion]

In the mansion’s study room, Charles, Haines, Atlas, and Zoren sat tensely around the couches. Their expressions were grim, the tension in the room at an all-time high.

Hugo was also present, but he chose to keep his distance, leaning quietly against the window.

"That’s impossible," Charles muttered after a prolonged silence.

His eyes were fixed on the photo laid out on the table. It wasn’t the same one he had seen among Slater’s things — this was a printed copy of an old family portrait. A family of four: an old woman, a boy, then a young couple standing behind.

Slowly, he lifted his dilated gaze to the person sitting across from him.

Zoren.

"That... that woman is your mother?" he asked under his breath.

Zoren nodded. "Like First Brother said, the photo you saw with Third Brother was a portrait of my mother. He said he accidentally took it with him when my grandmother showed him some old pictures."

Atlas, seated beside him, cast a quiet glance in Zoren’s direction. However, he said nothing — they had to protect Slater’s cover for now.

"But—" Charles began, then shifted his eyes toward Haines, who sat quietly in the single-seater armchair.

Haines’s brows were furrowed, his gaze locked on the portrait, full of conflicting emotions. Even when he sensed Charles looking at him, he didn’t look up. It took a few moments before he finally lifted his eyes and met theirs.

"That’s impossible," Haines echoed. "How could... how could that happen?"

What both Charles and Haines meant was clear: they could never forget the woman from their past. For entirely different reasons, her face had been seared into their memories.

To Charles, she represented a tragedy — the devastation he felt after that operation, the trauma of being abducted and tortured. That face had nearly cost him his life.

If Charles hadn’t been rescued, there would be no Atlas, Hugo, Slater, or Penny. He might never have met the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, much less married her. He wouldn’t have this life, despite carrying such heavy scars from that incident.

As for Haines, it was the face of the woman he had once loved with all his heart. The one who broke him, who haunted his thoughts every day and night for years.

Confusion shimmered in their eyes as they struggled to process the revelation.

"Dad, Uncle Haines," Atlas spoke, his voice cold and clear, "the person you both remember might be the same person — and that same person could very well be Zoren’s mother."

"Impossible," Charles breathed. "That woman died before any of you were even born."

Haines shook his head. "No. She disappeared. That was before any of you came along — before Charles was discharged from the military."

It stood to reason, then, that the woman involved in Charles’s operation and the one Haines had dated were the same.

But if that was the case... why did she look exactly like Zoren’s mother?

Charles and Haines turned to Zoren in unison.

"Did she have a twin?" Charles blurted out, then hesitated, turning toward Haines. His mouth opened, but the words died on his tongue. The weight of the moment didn’t make casual questioning feel appropriate.

Haines glanced at him, understanding his hesitation.

"No," he murmured, eyes flicking to Zoren and Atlas. "She never told me she had..."

He trailed off, and the sudden pause drew everyone’s attention. It was as if a realization had just dawned on him.

"No," Haines whispered again, shaking his head. "That’s impossible."

"What’s impossible, Uncle?" Atlas asked. "If you remember anything — anything at all — please say it. Even the smallest detail might be useful."

Haines hesitated. Speaking it aloud would mean reopening old wounds. But given the stakes, he forced himself to swallow his pride.

"There were times..." he began quietly, "when I felt like the woman with me wasn’t the same person."

Everyone’s brows furrowed.

"It wasn’t often, so I never really questioned it. I’d even joke about it. But sometimes... she’d contradict herself."

His hand clenched as his jaw tightened.

"There were things she hated — always made that clear. But suddenly she’d be fine with them. Sometimes she said she was allergic to certain foods, but the next day she’d eat them without hesitation."

"Was she ever allergic to pollen?" Zoren asked.

Haines froze.

He didn’t answer — but the shock on his face was answer enough.

"My mother was allergic to pollen," Zoren continued. "Inhaling too much would make her violently ill."

Haines’s fists trembled as he lowered his wide eyes to the floor.

"Was she... playing me that whole time?"

Was the woman he loved switching places with her twin whenever she couldn’t make it to their dates?

Why was he even surprised?

When she disappeared, Haines searched everywhere — including the hometown and university she claimed as hers.

And what did he find?

Nothing. No records. No trace of her existence.

Realizing that she may have been letting her twin or some look-alike impersonate her... it was like being slapped in the face.

"Wait..." Hugo rubbed his chin. "Does that mean Uncle Haines actually dated two women? And one of them was Zoren’s mom?!"

He gasped in horror, eyes darting around the room.

Ignoring him, Charles and Atlas shared a glance before turning their attention to Haines. But before they could speak, Zoren’s voice broke in.

"She’s not my mother."

Everyone — even Haines — looked up at him, stunned.

"What do you mean?" Atlas asked.

Zoren took a shallow breath, keeping his composure.

"I don’t remember everything from my early childhood. Especially before my father died. My memories are fragmented. But the more I tried to piece them together... the more I began to believe that the woman in that photo might not actually be my mother."

He looked at them calmly. "She might look like her. But I don’t think she is her."

"She may very well be the same woman Uncle Haines once knew. But I think... she was either an impostor — or my mother’s twin."