Chapter 10: My Father's Confession
I called my father seventeen times.
Every call went straight to voicemail.
By the eighteenth attempt, my hands were shaking so badly that Julian took the phone from me.
"Give him a minute," he said.
"A minute? Someone just attacked him!""
"We don't know that.""
"I heard something crash!""
Julian grabbed his coat.
"We're going to the house.""
Brielle stood beside the office door, pale and silent.
"I should come with you.""
I turned toward her.
"Why?""
"Because if Mom is there, she'll know I helped you.""
I stared at her.
"You're only worried about yourself?""
Brielle lowered her eyes.
"No. I'm worried about what she'll do.""
Julian interrupted.
"Both of you, listen. If Vanessa is inside that house, we don't confront her without help. We call the police and let them handle it.""
I nodded.
But I was already thinking about my father.
For eight years, I had waited for him to stand up for me.
Now I was afraid I might never get another chance to hear him explain why he hadn't.
When we reached the house, the front door was open.
One of the decorative lamps lay shattered across the hallway.
A chair had been overturned.
My father's reading glasses were on the floor.
"Dad!""
I ran through the living room.
No answer.
I checked the kitchen, the study, and the staircase.
Nothing.
Then I noticed a trail of papers leading toward the back garden.
Julian caught my arm.
"Don't touch anything.""
I looked outside.
My father's car was gone.
But his phone lay on the garden table.
Beside it was a small white envelope.
My name was written across the front.
I picked it up.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed my mother sitting at her sewing machine, holding a newborn baby.
I frowned.
I had never seen this photograph before.
On the back, my mother had written:
The truth deserves to be known, even when it hurts.
Beneath it was another sentence.
Richard knows whose child you really are.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
"Whose child?""
Julian looked over my shoulder.
His expression changed.
Brielle stepped closer.
"What does it mean?""
I turned toward Julian.
"You know something.""
He didn't answer.
"Julian.""
He looked toward the house.
"Not here.""
I felt anger rise in my chest.
"Stop telling me that! Everyone keeps deciding which truths I'm allowed to know!""
He finally looked at me.
"Your mother wanted to tell you when you were old enough.""
"Tell me what?""
Before he could answer, a police siren sounded in the distance.
Julian had called them on the way.
Two officers entered the garden.
One asked us to step away from the table.
Another began photographing the scene.
I showed them the envelope.
Then I gave them my father's phone.
"He's missing," I explained.
"And I think someone took him.""
The officer asked whether I had any idea who might be responsible.
I looked at the photograph.
Then at Brielle.
"Vanessa Carter.""
We spent the next hour answering questions.
The officers checked the security cameras, but the system had been disconnected shortly before our arrival.
Whoever had entered the house knew exactly where the cameras were.
An officer approached me.
"Miss Carter, we found something in your father's study.""
He handed me a small silver key.
"Does this belong to you?""
I recognized it immediately.
It was the key from my mother's necklace.
The same tiny key that opened the hidden compartment.
But this one was attached to a tag.
*PRIVATE ARCHIVE — LOCKER 008.*
Julian stared at it.
"Where did you find this?""
"In Mr. Carter's desk.""
I looked at him.
"Do you know what it opens?""
Julian nodded.
"Your mother's original archive.""
I felt my pulse quicken.
"Didn't we already find the storage unit?""
"That was where she kept the company documents. This is something different.""
He turned toward the officer.
"We need to go there.""
The officer frowned.
"Not without a warrant or the property owner's consent.""
Julian nodded.
"I understand.""
Then my phone vibrated.
A message appeared from an unknown number.
*Your father is alive. For now.*
Another message followed.
*Come to the old Silverwing studio at midnight. Bring the original contract. Come alone.*
I showed Julian.
He read it silently.
Then he looked at me.
"Absolutely not.""
I stared at the screen.
There was a final attachment.
A photograph of my father sitting in a chair.
His hands were tied.
His face was bruised.
Vanessa stood behind him.
She was smiling.
At 11:30 p.m., I sat in Julian's car outside the old Silverwing studio.
We had informed the police about the threat. They were arranging surveillance, but they needed time to establish the exact location and identify everyone involved.
I had the original contract inside my bag.
Julian checked the small recording device in his pocket.
"Stay behind me.""
I nodded.
The studio was almost unrecognizable.
The windows were boarded up. The sign above the entrance had faded. Weeds grew through the cracks in the pavement.
I remembered the photograph from my mother's archive.
This was where everything had started.
The door was unlocked.
Inside, a single lamp illuminated the old cutting table.
My father sat in a chair.
Vanessa stood beside him.
Brielle was nowhere to be seen.
Vanessa looked at me.
"You came.""
"Let him go.""
She smiled.
"Still giving orders. Your mother would be proud.""
I placed the contract on the table.
"That's what you wanted.""
Vanessa glanced at it.
"Not quite.""
She walked toward me.
"I want the silver-wing collection. The original designs, the rights, and the trust.""
"You don't own any of it.""
"Ownership is a matter of paperwork, Maya. And paperwork can be changed.""
My father lifted his head.
"Don't listen to her.""
Vanessa slapped him.
"Quiet, Richard.""
I moved forward.
"Don't touch him!""
She laughed.
"You're very protective of the man who signed away your mother's company.""
My father looked at me.
"Maya, I'm sorry.""
Vanessa placed a document on the table.
"Sign this, and I'll release him.""
I examined it.
It was a transfer agreement assigning my inheritance to Vanessa.
There was a second page.
A statement confirming that my mother had voluntarily surrendered her rights to Silverwing.
I looked up.
"You forged this.""
Vanessa shrugged.
"Your mother was very good at signing things when she was frightened.""
I felt sick.
"Did you kill her?""
Her smile disappeared.
For several seconds, she said nothing.
Then she leaned toward me.
"Your mother destroyed herself by refusing to understand when her time was over.""
My father struggled against the ropes.
"Vanessa, don't.""
She turned toward him.
"Tell her, Richard.""
He shook his head.
"Tell her what?""
Vanessa smiled again.
"Tell your daughter why you married me.""
I looked at my father.
He closed his eyes.
Then he whispered:
"Because Vanessa told me she knew the truth about your birth.""
I froze.
"What truth?""
Vanessa took a step toward me.
"You're not Richard's biological daughter, Maya.""
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
"That's a lie.""
My father looked at me.
His eyes filled with tears.
"No, sweetheart.""
I stepped backward.
"No.""
He swallowed.
"Your mother never told you because she wanted you to grow up without feeling different.""
I shook my head.
"Who is my father?""
Vanessa laughed softly.
Then she pointed toward the old photograph hanging above the cutting table.
It showed my mother standing beside Julian Cross.
And in the photograph, she was holding a newborn baby.
Vanessa whispered:
"Look at the man standing beside her.""
I turned.
Julian was standing in the doorway.
May you like
His face had gone completely white.
And for the first time, I understood why he had spent eight years trying to protect me.
