Chapter 5: The Father Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
The glass doors opened.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The entire room seemed trapped between two moments.
The moment before the impossible happened.
And the moment after.
Then the man stepped inside.
He looked nothing like the father I remembered.
The man from my childhood had thick black hair, bright eyes, and a laugh that filled every room.
This man was older.
His shoulders were narrower.
His face carried fifteen years of pain.
But his eyes were the same.
I knew those eyes before my mind could accept what I was seeing.
“Elias.””
My knees almost gave out.
I had imagined this moment a thousand times.
In some versions, I screamed at him.
In others, I walked away.
Sometimes I asked why he abandoned us.
Sometimes I asked why he chose death over me.
But standing there, with the entire Hawthorne estate watching, all I could say was one word.
“Dad?””
The room went silent.
Thomas Mercer looked at me.
And for a second, he wasn't a missing man.
He was just my father.
The man who used to lift me onto his shoulders when I was six.
The man who taught me how to plant roses.
The man who told me every seed had a story if you were patient enough to listen.
Then I remembered the empty chair at every birthday.
The unanswered letters.
My mother's tears.
And the anger returned.
“You're alive.””
His expression broke.
“Yes.””
I laughed once.
It wasn't happiness.
“You're alive.””
Thomas stepped forward.
“I know how this looks.””
“How it looks?””
My voice rose.
“You disappeared.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“From what?””
His eyes moved around the room.
To Alexander.
To Vivian.
To Richard.
“From them.””
Alexander stared at him.
“Thomas.””
My father looked at him.
For a moment, neither man spoke.
There was history there.
Years of it.
Painful history.
Alexander's voice was quiet.
“You let me believe you were dead.””
Thomas's expression hardened.
“You let my family believe I was dead.””
The accusation hung between them.
I looked back and forth.
“What happened?””
Nobody answered.
So I stepped closer.
“No more secrets.””
My father looked at me.
“I wanted to tell you.””
“But you didn't.””
“I couldn't.””
“You could have written.””
“I did.””
The words stopped me.
“What?””
Thomas reached into his coat.
He pulled out a worn envelope.
The paper was yellowed.
Old.
My name was written on it.
My hands began to shake.
“I sent this to your mother.””
I stared at it.
“She never gave it to me.””
Thomas looked away.
“She couldn't.””
“Why?””
His face changed.
“Because she never received it.””
A cold feeling spread through my chest.
“What are you saying?””
Thomas looked toward Alexander.
“Ask him.””
Everyone turned.
Alexander went still.
“No.””
My father stepped closer.
“You knew.””
“I didn't.””
“You knew the letters were intercepted.””
Alexander's silence answered for him.
I looked at Alexander.
“What letters?””
Thomas's voice became heavier.
“After the accident, I tried to contact my family. Every message disappeared.””
My heart pounded.
“Why?””
“Because someone didn't want me found.””
Richard spoke from the side.
“You're making this more dramatic than it needs to be.””
My father looked at him.
“You would know.””
Richard's face tightened.
“You were always paranoid.””
Thomas laughed quietly.
“Paranoid?””
He pointed toward the room.
“At least three people here have tried to bury the truth.””
Vivian whispered, “Thomas…”
He looked at her.
“You should have left.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I didn't know it would go this far.””
“You knew enough.””
Alexander turned sharply.
“What does that mean?””
Thomas looked at him.
“It means your wife knew about the money.””
Vivian closed her eyes.
Alexander stared at her.
“What money?””
Nobody answered.
My father continued.
“The Mercer investigation.””
I frowned.
“What investigation?””
Thomas looked at me.
“The one that started everything.””
He walked toward the table.
The same table where the poison glass sat untouched.
“The Hawthorne Corporation had a hidden account.””
Alexander's face changed.
“That is a lie.””
“No.””
Thomas looked directly at him.
“You know it isn't.””
“I built my company legally.””
“You built part of it legally.””
A murmur spread through the room.
Alexander's expression turned furious.
“You have no right.””
“I have every right.””
Thomas pointed at me.
“Because my son lost his father because I tried to expose what you did.””
I felt the air leave my lungs.
I looked at Alexander.
“You killed him?””
Alexander's face showed something I hadn't expected.
Not anger.
Fear.
“No.””
Thomas answered.
“No, he didn't kill me.””
I turned back.
“Then who did?””
My father looked at Richard.
Richard said nothing.
That was enough.
“You?””
Richard's expression remained calm.
“You don't understand.””
“I understand you were there.””
“I was protecting the company.””
The room went quiet.
Alexander looked at him.
“What did you just say?””
Richard realized his mistake.
But it was too late.
Alexander stepped closer.
“You were involved?””
Richard looked away.
“I handled problems.””
“Problems?””
Alexander's voice shook.
“My employee.””
Richard didn't answer.
“My friend.””
Still nothing.
“My best friend was almost killed.””
Richard finally looked at him.
“He was going to destroy everything.””
Alexander's face changed.
“You knew.””
Richard said nothing.
“You knew Thomas survived.””
“Yes.””
The confession stunned everyone.
Alexander whispered,
“How long?””
Richard's jaw tightened.
“Fifteen years.””
I stared at him.
“You knew my father was alive for fifteen years?””
“Yes.””
“And you did nothing?””
Richard looked at me.
“I watched.””
The answer was so cold that even Vivian stepped back.
“Why?””
Richard smiled slightly.
“Because I needed to know what he had.””
Thomas said quietly,
“You never found it.””
Richard's smile disappeared.
“No.””
“What was it?”” I asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Alexander spoke.
“The ledger.””
I looked at him.
“What ledger?””
Thomas reached into his pocket.
He removed a small black notebook.
My breath caught.
It was old.
Worn.
The edges damaged.
Richard immediately moved.
“Don't.””
Security reacted instantly.
Two guards blocked him.
Thomas placed the notebook on the table.
“This is what everyone has been looking for.””
Alexander stared at it.
“What does it contain?””
“Every illegal payment.””
Richard laughed.
“You think a notebook proves anything?””
Thomas opened it.
“You think I didn't make copies?””
Richard went pale.
For the first time all night, he looked afraid.
Daniel noticed.
“You didn't know he had backups.””
“No.””
Richard's voice was barely audible.
“You lied to me.””
Daniel looked at him.
“You lied to everyone.””
Thomas turned toward me.
“Elias, there's something you need to understand.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
“The reason I stayed away wasn't because I didn't love you.””
My eyes burned.
“Then why?””
He took a breath.
“Because the person who ordered my death…”
He looked around the room.
“…was someone inside my own family.””
Silence.
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Thomas looked at Alexander.
Then at me.
“Your mother wasn't the only person who knew about the truth.””
I felt a chill.
“Who?””
Thomas's eyes moved toward the staircase.
Everyone followed.
A figure stood at the top.
Watching.
A woman.
Older.
Gray hair.
One hand gripping the railing.
I recognized her immediately.
She had served the Hawthorne family longer than anyone.
The woman who had brought me tea when I was a child.
The woman who had comforted my mother after my father disappeared.
The woman everyone trusted.
Alexander whispered her name.
“Margaret.””
She slowly walked down the stairs.
Her face was calm.
Too calm.
Thomas stared at her.
“You shouldn't have come here.””
Margaret stopped at the bottom step.
“I didn't come here.””
She looked at me.
“I came for him.””
My blood went cold.
“For Elias.””
Alexander stepped forward.
“Why?””
Margaret reached into her pocket.
And pulled out a gun.
The room exploded with screams.
Security reached for their weapons.
But Margaret didn't point it at Alexander.
She pointed it at me.
And she said,
“Because your father never told you the most important part.””
My breathing stopped.
“What part?””
Margaret's eyes filled with something I couldn't understand.
Regret.
Fear.
And maybe guilt.
May you like
Then she whispered,
“You weren't the only Mercer who survived.””
