Volume 1: The Story Of Their Life

Chapter 5: An Untold Story... (Part 2)

I scrolled down a little, my finger pausing midway as my eyes read the names.

Laura... Harold... Nathan...

Those names held more weight than mere words; they were the names of people I've known my whole life... My mind went blank as a chilling realization gripped me— Perhaps, I never truly knew them like I thought I did...

I sank into the chair, speechless. Collecting myself, I leaned in to continue reading when my mom burst into the room, skidding to a halt. Her gaze shifted from me to the AR files. Letting out a sigh and slapping her hand to her face, she entered the office, her head hanging low. There was an awkward silence for the next few seconds.

"Are you gonna say something or...?" I began.

"Oh, yeah... Dinner's... ready."

I shook my head in disapproval.

"It really is."

"Mom!" I exclaimed, a little annoyed.

She paused for a moment. "It's not what it looks like..."

"You disappeared for over 48 days and you didn't even bother to mention that to me." I replied, let down, shocked, confused.

She hesitantly lifted her head trying to say something but ended up holding back. I rolled my chair closer to hers. "Mom..." I began, my tone quieter than before. "What happened?"

"Can you please pretend like you didn't see that?"

"Well, I'm gonna pretend like I didn't hear that..." I replied.

She sighed and with a glance into my eyes, she started with a word that lit them up. It was way off topic... but it still had its effect.

"CypherX..."

I'm not very good with names but that... It's been inscribed in the back of my mind since the first time I heard it.

"I don't know if you know it, but back in the 40s, there reigned an unknown hacktivist who went by that name. And with that name, they did things that no one dared to do. Exposed crimes that no one dared to involve in... Although their active presence spanned less than two years, their impact was immense. From tackling several first-rate crime cases dismissed by the government itself, to exposing extremely controversial rumors and conspiracies, the arrival of the Cyphers shed light on the darkest corners of society, forever changing the lives of those affected."

I leaned back, soaking in every word as she raved about CypherX, as though I had never heard the name before.

That name... It required no introduction. One of the most enigmatic names in the annals of history. Everything about their story remained veiled in secrecy. Over two decades had gone by, yet their name still echoed in the whispers of the wind, as if it all happened yesterday. Legends for a reason.

"Mom... What did I ask you and what are you telling me?" I asked, confusion knitting my brows or maybe it was annoyance... I'm not sure.

A little smirk played on her lips. She let the suspense linger for a moment before revealing something that I never thought would come out of her mouth.

"We were CypherX."

............

............

"Cool. Now tell me what actually happened."

She didn't utter a word, just gave a slight shrug, seemingly affirming her words.

"Is... Is this some sort of distraction cause it's working."

"Would you believe it if I said no?" She asked in turn.

"No...?"

"Great, that ends it. We'll talk later." She said getting up from her chair, using it as an excuse to leave. I pushed her back into her seat, trying to wrap my head around the shocking revelation. I mean, it's not every day your mom confesses that she and her homies were the masterminds behind the world's most sensational hacktivist group, right? Not to mention, they were seventeen-nineteen at the time.

"Y—you can't be serious," I added, refusing to accept it but in the corner of my mind, I knew it was true. I just knew it. "But... But why? How...? You guys have always preferred to stay low and avoid trouble. I–I just don't get why you three wou—"

"Four..." she corrected.

In the midst of it all, just when I thought things couldn't get any worse, more complications reared my head. My last few brain cells went on strike as I came to a standstill, a perplexed frown etching across my face. Little did I know, this was just the beginning of a twisted chain of events that would leave me on the edge of my seat and plenty of sleepless nights.

"And it keeps on coming..." I mumbled as she began drumming her fingers lightly, her usual response when she's deep in thought. I paused, my mind suddenly racing back to the headline of the article. I reversed my chair to its original position and resumed scrolling through the feature to find the part where I had left off. There had to be something or rather... someone, I had overlooked. And sure enough, I was right. I looked at her, my face drowned in confusion like never before.

"Alex... Maverick?"