Chapter 8: The Man at Fort Riley
Daniel followed Robert into a quiet corridor outside the ballroom.
Sarah came behind them.
The senior officer and Evelyn followed at a distance.
The applause from the ceremony hall had stopped completely.
Nobody seemed interested in the award anymore.
Daniel turned on his father.
“Talk.””
Robert leaned against the wall.
His face looked older than it had twenty minutes earlier.
“Eight years ago, before you left for training, Michael found something.””
“What?””
“A letter.””
“From who?””
Robert stared at the floor.
“Your mother.””
Sarah frowned.
“I never wrote him a letter.””
“You did.””
“No, I didn't.””
“You did,” Robert repeated.
“But you didn't know he received it.””
Daniel looked at his mother.
“What did it say?””
Sarah shook her head.
“I don't remember.””
Robert swallowed.
“You told Michael that you were pregnant before we married.””
Daniel's face changed.
Sarah stared at him.
“I was.””
Robert nodded.
“But you told him you weren't sure who the father was.””
Daniel went silent.
Sarah's voice trembled.
“I was young.””
Robert looked at her.
“You were seeing someone else.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
“For a short time.””
Daniel stepped backward.
“You never told me.””
“I was ashamed.””
Robert's voice cracked.
“And I knew.””
Daniel looked at him.
“You knew I might not be yours.””
“I suspected.””
“For sixteen years?””
Robert nodded.
Daniel's eyes filled.
“Then why did you raise me?””
Robert laughed bitterly.
“Because I loved you.””
Sarah whispered, “Robert…”
“No.”” He shook his head.
“Let him hear it.””
Daniel stared at him.
Robert continued.
“I loved you before I knew. I loved you after I knew. But when Michael found the letter, everything changed.””
“What changed?””
“He discovered the name of the man Sarah had been seeing.””
Sarah's face drained.
Daniel looked at her.
“Who?””
She couldn't answer.
Robert did.
“Marcus Reed.””
Sarah closed her eyes.
Daniel repeated the name.
“Marcus Reed.””
Robert nodded.
“He was stationed at Fort Riley.””
Daniel looked toward the senior officer.
“Military?””
“Yes.””
The officer's expression became guarded.
Daniel turned back to Robert.
“What happened to him?””
Robert shook his head.
“I don't know.””
“You don't know?””
“He disappeared.””
Evelyn stepped closer.
“He didn't disappear.””
Everyone looked at her.
She held Michael's letter.
“Michael found him.””
Robert stared.
“You knew?””
“I knew Michael was looking.””
“Did he find him?””
Evelyn nodded.
“Yes.””
Daniel's heartbeat quickened.
“Where?””
Evelyn looked at Robert.
“Fort Riley.””
Robert whispered, “That's impossible.””
“No,” Evelyn said.
“What's impossible is that you thought Michael would take this secret to his grave.””
Sarah looked at Evelyn.
“Did Michael meet Marcus?””
“Yes.””
“Did he tell him about Daniel?””
“He tried.””
Daniel stepped forward.
“What did Marcus say?””
Evelyn hesitated.
“He said he had never known you existed.””
Daniel's face fell.
Robert looked away.
Sarah whispered, “I never told him.””
“Why?””
“I was afraid.””
“Of what?””
Sarah looked at Daniel.
“Of losing you.””
Daniel's voice cracked.
“So you let me believe Dad was my biological father.””
“I let you believe you had a family.””
Robert suddenly laughed.
“A family?””
Sarah turned.
Robert's eyes were wet.
“I spent sixteen years wondering if you were waiting for Marcus to come back.””
“I never was.””
“I didn't know that.””
“You never asked.””
“I was afraid of the answer.””
Daniel stepped between them.
“And because you were afraid, you forged documents?””
Robert's voice dropped.
“When Michael found Marcus, he told me something.””
“What?””
“That Marcus had a daughter.””
Daniel frowned.
“What does that have to do with me?””
Robert looked at him.
“Everything.””
The senior officer interrupted.
“Mr. Carter, we need to understand the connection.””
Robert nodded slowly.
“Marcus Reed died overseas six years ago.””
Sarah gasped.
“When?””
Robert looked at her.
“Three months before Michael died.””
Daniel's eyes widened.
“So Grandpa knew.””
“Yes.””
“And Marcus was dead.””
“Yes.””
“Then why did he leave me a letter saying my father was still alive?””
Robert froze.
Daniel held up the letter.
Everyone stared.
At the bottom of the page, beneath Michael's signature, was another handwritten sentence:
*Marcus is alive.*
Sarah's knees nearly buckled.
“That can't be.””
Evelyn took the letter.
She read it twice.
Then looked at Robert.
“You didn't tell him.””
Robert's face went white.
“Tell him what?””
Evelyn's voice hardened.
“You know.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Know what?””
Robert backed away.
“I thought Marcus died.””
The senior officer looked at him.
“You said he died six years ago.””
“I believed it.””
“But now?””
Robert looked at Daniel.
“I don't know.””
Daniel's breathing quickened.
Then the military attorney rushed into the corridor.
“Sir.””
The senior officer turned.
“What?””
“We ran the name through the archived personnel database.””
“And?””
The attorney looked at Daniel.
“There is a Marcus Reed connected to Fort Riley.””
Sarah covered her mouth.
Daniel stared.
“Alive?””
The attorney nodded.
“Apparently.””
Robert's face collapsed.
“No.””
Daniel looked at him.
“You said he was dead.””
“I was told he was.””
“By who?””
Robert didn't answer.
The attorney looked at the tablet again.
“There's something else.””
“What?””
“The record was recently accessed.””
Daniel's stomach tightened.
“By who?””
The attorney turned the screen around.
Daniel saw the account name.
His own.
But he had never accessed it.
He whispered:
“Someone is using my credentials.””
Then his phone vibrated.
Unknown number.
One message.
*Your grandfather lied about one thing. I'm not your father. But I know who is.*
A second message appeared.
*And Robert knows where to find him.*
May you like
Daniel slowly raised his eyes.
His father was gone.
