In her attempts to bring her brother back to life, Deya visited the old house where Lily had lived. Starting to go through the tapes, at some point the girl caught herself wanting to take a break and play a little, but she suppressed her urges with great difficulty and continued searching.
When she had almost given up hope of finding anything useful, instead of a cassette, she unexpectedly found a flash drive. Its contents turned out to be quite different from the other recordings: instead of the usual pleasant scenes of lovemaking, there was a young woman on the video, whom Deya recognized as her mother.
"Darling, if you're watching this recording, then I'm already gone. A few months ago, I found out I had brain cancer. The first thing I felt was a wave of panic."
Taking a deep breath and gathering her thoughts, the mother, whom Deya found very beautiful, continued:
"I didn't think you'd be able to survive another blow. I racked my brain for a long time about what to do and came to the conclusion that I needed to give birth to a child who could become your anchor. I thought about finding someone to help me with this, but then I realized that if I did, you'd just give the child to Frank and Jill and go off the deep end yourself. Thinking it over again, I concluded that you wouldn't abandon the little one only if it were your own child. I know this is a dangerous game. I'll hope the baby is healthy. Take care of him and don't blame Frank and Jill — this was my idea. I hope I can hold on long enough. No matter how it ends, remember: I love you."
After the video ended, Deya retreated into herself. She had never been interested in who her father was, but she would never have guessed that her biological father would turn out to be her brother.
She knew her brother would never take such a risk, and her mother knew it too, so judging by the video, dear old dad had been presented with a fait accompli.
Learning the truth, Deya felt no disgust. Instead, she was glad. The truth she learned today only strengthened her resolve to find a way to keep her brother and father from suicide. The gears in her head began to turn, running through various scenarios.
It took her time to plan her conversation with the person who was not just her brother, friend, father, but also her beloved. Choosing the right moment, she asked Yuno, who had become her brother's shadow after the tragedy, to leave them alone for a while.
As soon as the door closed behind the girl, Deya very naturally settled onto her brother's lap. She had stopped doing this from the day her mind began to be tormented by those strange dreams.
"Brother, you know, I was never concerned about who my father was, because even though things weren't always smooth between us, you've always been everything to me: brother, best friend, and father. And even though I was shocked, I'm still very glad to learn that you are my father."
Noticing the strong surprise on her brother's face, which was a very rare sight, Deya couldn't help but smile tenderly. When he was about to say something, she put a finger to his lips and continued her confession:
"As I said, you were everything to me, but not long ago I saw you as a man. I know it's wrong, but my attempts to run away from it led nowhere. I know you're in a lot of pain right now, and it's too hypocritical of me to ask this, but this is my first request as your daughter and as a girl who has very warm feelings for you, so please, stay with me."
"How long ago did this start?" Ray asked, as soon as his daughter finished speaking.
After a moment's hesitation, the little one finally answered:
"Soon after I turned sixteen. I tried to run away from it. When I went to study, there were a couple of guys in my circle who were interested in me. Thoughts of starting a relationship with them even crossed my mind, but a wave of disgust washed over me every time I thought about it."
"I'm confined to a wheelchair, and my appearance can scare hardened criminals. And if I understood you correctly, you want us to cross the line. Even if I agreed — and I won't — do you even understand what you're getting into?"
"Daddy, I understand everything perfectly, and I'm ready for it. Even Kira was willing to help me. I know you planned to kill yourself once you were done with Tyler and Cassie. If the hypocritical plea of your beloved daughter isn't enough to keep you in this world, I want you to know: I will follow you, but before that, I'll kill all the key figures among the 'Devils.'"
From the little one's tone and her gaze, Ray clearly understood she wasn't joking, and he said thoughtfully:
"The doctor overseeing the medical research group says there's a small chance of restoring my ability to walk."
After a short pause, he continued, looking at his daughter, who was listening attentively:
"The operation is very risky, but I promise you I'll stay and even reciprocate your feelings if it goes well. But only if you don't interfere and, in the event of my death on the operating table, you continue to live and promise to keep Yuno from doing anything stupid, as well as take care of Alice and Tyler and Cassie's daughter, if she survives."
Thinking, Deya bit her lip and, nodding resolutely, said:
"Okay, but I need to make sure this is really possible, and I'll choose the doctors for the operation myself."
"Fine, but don't you dare kill anyone if you don't like the outcome."