Choices || CAPTAIN AMERICA (Book 4)

Chapter 9

As the footage played, the silence in the room became suffocating. My heart pounded in my chest, and I could feel the tremors in my hands. I didn't want to believe it, but I knew. Deep down, I knew.

The camera feed showed a figure stepping out of the shadows. The Winter Soldier. Bucky.

"Stop the video," I muttered, my voice barely audible. No one moved.

Tony's face grew pale as he watched the Winter Soldier approach the car. He couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen, and neither could I. Bucky, controlled and cold, opened the car door and dragged my parents out. It was brutal, methodical. I felt my knees go weak.

Tony's expression twisted with disbelief and rage as he realized the truth. The man who stood beside us, who we had trusted despite everything, had murdered his parents. And not just any murder. A mission, carried out without hesitation, with cold efficiency.

I backed away from the screen, but my eyes were locked on it, as if hoping that somehow, the truth would change. That this would all be a mistake. But it wasn't.  First my father. Then my mother.

I felt something shatter inside me. Everything I thought I knew, the hope that maybe Bucky could be redeemed, crumbled into nothing. I glanced at Steve, who had gone deathly pale, waiting for my reaction. He knew. Of course, he knew. And yet, he kept this from us. From me. Tony suddenly lunged at Bucky, but Steve caught him before he could make a step further. The force of Steve's grip was the only thing holding Tony back, his suit whirring with restrained energy. Tony's face twisted in fury and pain as he glared at Steve.

"Did you know?" My brother's voice was low, dangerous, each word dripping with betrayal.

Steve didn't answer right away, his blue eyes locked on Tony's, pleading for understanding. But there was no escaping the truth now. I could see the conflict in Steve's expression, the weight of what he was about to admit crushing him.

"I didn't know it was him," Steve said, his voice steady but filled with regret.

"Don't bullshit me, Rogers," Tony snapped, his voice rising, raw with anger. He pushed harder against Steve's grip, his eyes searching for the truth he feared. "Did you know?"

There was a long, agonizing pause. Steve's gaze locked on my brother's. He took a breath, knowing that the next words out of his mouth would change everything.

"Yes," Steve answered quietly.

The word hung in the air like a death sentence. Tony's entire body went rigid, and he immediately yanked himself free from Steve's hold, stumbling back a step as if Steve's touch burned him. His face twisted in disbelief, a mixture of betrayal and hurt flashing in his eyes.

As Tony stumbled back, his eyes flicked to me, and the pain there was like a knife in my heart. "Alice," he whispered, his voice raw with emotion. "You knew ? You knew and you still—"

"No!" I interrupted, shaking my head fiercely, stepping closer to him. My hands trembled as I reached out, trying to find the right words. "Tony, I didn't know. I swear, I didn't know."

He looked at me, searching for the truth in my eyes. For a moment, I saw a flicker of relief, but it was quickly swallowed by the anger and betrayal swirling inside him. "But he did," Tony said bitterly, his gaze shifting back to Steve.

I turned to Steve, my heart aching. "Steve, tell him," I pleaded, my voice desperate. "Tell him you didn't know until recently."

Steve's face was a mask of conflict, guilt etched into every line. "Alice... I found out not long ago, after everything happened. I didn't know it was them, not until..."