Chapter 12 - MY FATHER WAS ALIVE
I stared at the letter.
Yesterday.
Impossible.
My father had been dead for years.
Or so I believed.
The detective immediately sent the handwriting for verification.
While we waited, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
“Ryan.”
My father's voice.
I froze.
“Dad?”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Don't ask.”
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Why did you let me believe you were dead?”
“Because I had to protect you.”
“From who?”
“Your mother.”
I looked at her.
She closed her eyes.
My father continued:
“She didn't betray you willingly.”
“What happened?”
“Richard forced her.”
“Why?”
“Because he had Lily's sister.”
I looked at Emily.
“What?”
My father said:
“He used the second child as leverage.”
I felt sick.
“Where is Richard?”
“Near the original estate.”
“The mansion?”
“Yes.”
“What does he want?”
“The archive.”
“But Lily opened it.”
“Then you must destroy it.”
I stared.
“Destroy what?”
“The research.”
“What?”
“If Richard gets the archive, people will die.”
The call ended.
I turned toward the detective.
“We need to go.”
My mother stood.
“I'll come.”
“No.”
She looked at me.
“I know the estate better than anyone.”
We drove back.
The mansion was dark.
Every light was off.
The doors were unlocked.
Inside, the dining room still looked exactly as it had the night Lily knocked the glass from my hand.
The broken glass had been removed.
But I remembered everything.
Vanessa.
Michael.
Charles.
The plan.
I walked toward the office.
A laptop sat open.
The archive files were already being copied.
Someone had accessed them remotely.
The detective checked the connection.
“It's coming from inside this house.”
I looked at my mother.
She shook her head.
“Not me.”
Then we heard footsteps upstairs.
I grabbed a flashlight.
We climbed.
A bedroom door stood open.
Inside was my father.
Alive.
Older.
Weak.
But alive.
I ran toward him.
“Dad.”
He hugged me.
I couldn't speak.
Then he looked at Lily.
“My granddaughter.”
Lily ran into his arms.
He cried.
“I've waited so long.”
I stepped back.
“Why did you hide?”
He looked at my mother.
“Because Richard controlled everything.”
My mother began crying.
“He threatened the children.”
My father nodded.
“Your mother tried to protect them.”
I looked at Emily.
“Why did you separate them?”
“I didn't.”
“Then who?”
My father looked toward the doorway.
“Margaret.”
I felt cold.
“She took Emily.”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“To create leverage.”
My father sat down.
“She wanted access to the archive.”
“And Vanessa?”
“She was Margaret's daughter.”
“And Michael?”
“Her son.”
The entire family had been manipulated.
But there was still one person missing.
Richard.
My grandfather.
My father looked at me.
“He's coming.”
“When?”
“Tonight.”
The lights suddenly turned on.
A voice came from the hallway.
“Actually…”
Richard stepped into the room.
He held a gun.
The detective raised his weapon.
“Drop it.”
Richard smiled.
“You still think this is about money.”
I stood in front of Lily and Emily.
“What do you want?”
“Your daughters.”
“No.”
“Their blood unlocks the archive.”
“You're not touching them.”
Richard's expression hardened.
“Then watch your father die.”
He raised the weapon.
My father stepped forward.
“Richard.”
My grandfather smiled.
“You were always weak.”
Then the room exploded into chaos.
The detective tackled Richard.
The gun fell.
I grabbed the girls.
My father stumbled.
My mother screamed.
Richard tried to reach the weapon.
The detective kicked it away.
Security rushed in.
Richard was restrained.
But before they took him away, he looked at me.
“You think you've won?”
I stared.
“You're finished.”
He laughed.
“No.”
He pointed toward the computer.
“Look.”
The screen showed a countdown.
Ten minutes.
“What's happening?”
May you like
Richard smiled.
“The archive is being deleted.”
