The smell of disinfectant drove Protacio insane, but his curiosity and the need to face Maria Ventura propelled his feet to move forward. He had read the contents of the final letter. He was aware of the truth.

He had no right to judge Lucious or Maria about that night. Maybe, there truly was no one to blame. Protacio was a man governed by the principles of his life. A man may perhaps be guilty in the eyes of the law, but in his eyes, he saw no fault in what transpired that night. No, he would never judge either one of them. 247 may have committed grave crimes, but the man was beyond help. The man was someone who was consumed by obsession and the lack of proper guidance led him astray. If 247 had someone like a brother, mother, father, or anyone who could have shown him love, and the true meaning and proper way to love, the man would never have fallen to the dark side of life. And Maria? What could Protacio possibly say about her? The woman was a tough and impossibly amazing person.

He stepped inside after Maximillian came out of the room. The Warden, at first, wanted to question why the Senator's eyes were filled with tears, as he walked past him but decided against it. Protacio deduced that what Maximillian and 247 had was something important and sensitive- enough for the Senator to ask that his conversation with Maria be done in private.

When warden Protacio stepped inside the room, he was immediately followed by Nathaniel and Maria's children.

***

(Two hours ago)

Maximillian Gorte stepped out of the shower. Nathaniel had provided him with a new set of clothes. His assistant failed to arrive on time, which was understandable because the Senator left the task of cleaning the aftermath of the recent siege of San Fernando Prison to him.

He stared at his face in front of the mirror and took a deep breath. Never in his life had he expected to be given a chance of meeting Maria Ventura. A name that remained inside his heart and head in the previous decades.

He was aware that revealing his true identity could cause a few problems if anyone got a wind of it, but for Lucious-Maximillian was willing to risk it all. Besides, he had lived a normal and fulfilled life due to the man's generosity. It was only fair that he gave Lucious a final act of kindness.

The Senator shook his head as he ran a comb over his hair. If he had known Lucious was still alive and did not die during the fire of Marreta prison. He would have done everything in his power to make the man's life a little better. He was curious as to how Lucious ended up in jail. None of them knew, but according to the warden-the final letter held the key. Yes, it was due to the murder of Maria's husband, but the warden was adamant when he said, there was more to the story.

Nathaniel had asked Sheldon to read the final letter, but the man refused and said, "This should be read along with my mother."

It was four in the afternoon when Maximillian and the others arrived at the hospital. The Senator requested to be left alone with Maria and surprisingly, everyone agreed without a single protest.

Maximillian sat beside the hospital bed and stared at the woman who was also gazing back at him.

"May I know why the famed Senator is here to visit an old woman like myself?" Maria asked.

It took a while for Maximillian to find the right words. When his head was ready. He began his story.

"Maria, you're aware that my name is Maximillian Gorte, but long before the fame and the achievements, I was called by another name. I was baptized as David Dualti. My family and I met a man when I was nine years old.

Maximillian carefully explained who Lucious was to him. Every detail was given along with the facial reconstruction that his father had done on Lucious. He did not fail to mention that the name Lucious Dualti belonged to his late brother and that it was given to 247 in hopes of providing him with a new beginning.
Maximillian also recounted that 247 gave him and his family an abundant amount of money which changed their life. They were able to leave the church and buy a house. He managed to attend school and everything fell into place after that.

"I believe, Lucious was lost. He was confused about life, love, and everything around him. No one was there for him, and the image of you or probably the idea of you was the only thing that made sense or held value to him. He probably lived his life aiming for you, because he believed he had nothing else and no one else. But these are just my speculations, " Maximillian explained.

The old Senator stood from his chair and smiled at Maria, I wanted to meet you because your name and his, plagued my head for a very long time. Maria Ventura, no matter how he took or understood the love he had for you. Know that what he did was probably all for you. He never forced his way into your life, which for me was the best thing he could have done. Maybe in a way, he knew he was not right for you, but never dared to walk away. He probably convinced himself that he needed to protect you. Man can be dangerous when they fall deeply in love, perhaps, unlike women who can easily voice their thoughts, man find complications in revealing everything inside of them.

Maybe man are bound by the genetic trait of being a male, or maybe we were tailored differently. We can never truly know. But trust me when I say, he loved you, Maria, in a way that he knew how.

***

Warden Protacio remained silent as he gazed at the woman on the bed. He watched how Sheldon positioned himself on the chair beside the old woman and took out a letter from his jacket.

At that point, Protacio felt like he must leave. He turned towards the door, but before he could grab the knob and open the door, Sheldon asked him to stay.

Maria, tired and in pain as she was, took her son's arm and whispered, "I'm sorry."

Sheldon shook his head. He wanted to say the words, "it is I, who should be sorry" but fought against them. His mother, oh how he loathed her in the previous years. He should have known better.

"Mom are these true? What the letters contain, is it the truth? Dad, my grandparents, did they really treat you that way?"

All Maria could do was cry. Revealing everything now felt surreal. She wasn't uneasy like she expected. She thought her pain was better left unsaid and to be buried with her. She believed for the longest time that her battle were unheard and unseen. At some point in her life, she believed without a doubt that her sufferings was well crafted it was invisible to the human eye.

But... Him. That man.

How could a man whom she could only remember by name, know all of those things about her? How could she have not felt him around her? Why did he deem it necessary to protect her? Why did he have to sacrifice so much for her? How could he have seen the things she fought so hard to hide? How could he have loved her so much?

"Mom, this letter," Sheldon began, but Maria waved her hand to cut him off.  "Read the rest of them to me."

Without a protest from the people inside the hospital room, Sheldon began to read the letter.

***

Dear Maria,

This letter is made to be short. But please know that I Love you.

I tried everything to will myself away from your side, but I couldn't. I needed to kill your husband, yet I failed to bring myself to do so. You still loved him. You would grieve for him. It would hurt you to lose him.

What else could I have done?

It was my fault. I was a coward. It was my fault.

If I had done it sooner, that never would have happened.

It never would have happened. Sheldon, oh how I wished he wasn't there that night. Maria, I thought I was doing the right thing by planning your husband's demise, but the heavens had other plans, didn't they? How cruel was destiny to us, to your life and your kids?

I love you.

I love you.

***

"That's all I can read from this. The other parts are smeared with blood," Sheldon murmured.

Valerie stood from her chair and screamed, "What does that mean? What was he talking about? What happened that night Sheldon?"

Given the brewing tension between the siblings, Nathaniel immediately left his chair and wrapped his arms around his wife's shoulder. He cleared his throat and then glanced at the warden. The way Protacio turned away from his gaze gave Nathaniel a foreboding feel.

The old marine could tell that a revelation of a secret kept for years was about to surface.

"Did that man kill daddy, or did he not?" Valerie asked, eyes dripping with tears as she locked gazes with her brother.