Chapter 13: My Father’s Final Lie
“Don't go near my daughter.””
My voice sounded unfamiliar, even to me.
My father stopped beside the desk, the photograph of Elena still resting beneath his hand. At seventy, he had the same straight posture, the same silver hair, and the same cold eyes I remembered from childhood.
For twelve years, I had believed those eyes were closed forever.
Now they were fixed on Lily.
“She's frightened,” my father said.
“Someone should comfort her.””
“You don't get to touch her.””
He sighed as if I were embarrassing him in front of business associates.
“Still dramatic, Vincent. Your mother used to say you inherited her imagination.””
Gabriel moved between him and Lily.
“Take one more step, and I swear I'll—”
“You'll what?”” Father asked mildly.
“Shoot me? After everything I've done to keep you alive?””
Gabriel's gun trembled.
“You told me Vincent killed Elena.””
“And you believed me.””
“You showed me the blood!””
“I showed you what you needed to see.””
The words struck the room like a slap.
Gabriel stared at him.
Father adjusted his cufflinks.
“Your brother was confused that night. He'd been drinking. Elena was hysterical. There was a confrontation, an unfortunate fall, and then a great deal of panic.””
I stepped forward.
“An unfortunate fall?””
Father turned to me.
“You were there, Vincent. Surely you remember.””
Fragments of memory flickered.
Elena reaching for me.
A glass shattering.
My father's hand pressing against the back of my neck.
Then darkness.
I gripped the edge of the desk.
“You drugged me.””
“I gave you something to calm you down.””
“You erased my memories.””
“Memory is a fragile thing. People forget what they cannot bear to remember.””
Reeves raised his weapon.
“Richard Moretti, step away from the desk. Put your hands where I can see them.””
Father glanced at the detective.
“Samuel. How disappointing. I paid for your education, helped you secure your first promotion, and this is how you repay me?””
“I never took money from you.””
“Your account statements suggest otherwise.””
Reeves's face tightened.
“Those payments were made without my authorization.””
“Of course they were.””
Father smiled.
“Everyone is innocent when the evidence becomes inconvenient.””
Daniel stood near the entrance, pale and silent.
I turned toward him.
“How much did he pay you?””
“Vincent, I can explain.””
“How much?””
“Your father threatened your daughter. He threatened you. I thought if I cooperated, I could protect your family.””
“You helped him hide my wife's murder.””
“I didn't know he had killed her.””
Father chuckled.
“Daniel, please. Don't pretend you were merely a frightened bystander. You drafted the documents that transferred the money.
You signed the confidentiality agreements. You helped me arrange the funeral.””
Daniel's face crumpled.
“I didn't know Elena would die.””
“But you knew she was in danger.””
Daniel lowered his eyes.
That was answer enough.
My father opened the ledger.
“Now, let's end this nonsense. Give me the notebook, Gabriel. Give me the original recordings. Then we can all leave here quietly.””
Gabriel laughed bitterly.
“You faked your death, framed Vincent, and threatened an eight-year-old girl. You think we're going to hand you the evidence?””
“I think you want to survive.””
Father reached into his jacket.
Reeves shouted, “Don't move!””
Father froze.
For one terrifying second, I thought he would pull a weapon.
Instead, he removed a small black device.
“A remote control,” he explained.
“The security system in this building is connected to a failsafe. If I press this button, every electronic record in this room will be destroyed.””
Reeves moved closer.
“Put it down.””
Father looked at me.
“You've spent your life believing money makes you powerful. It doesn't. Information does. And I have enough information to destroy every person in this room.””
I stared at him.
“Then why are you afraid of a notebook?””
His smile faltered.
Because I finally understood.
He didn't want the money.
He didn't even want to escape.
He wanted the records that could prove he had built his empire by controlling people.
Elena had found a way to expose him.
And he'd spent three years trying to make sure her daughter never discovered it.
I stepped toward him.
“You killed Elena because she wouldn't stay quiet.””
Father's eyes hardened.
“She made a choice.””
“She was my wife.””
“She was a threat.””
“She was Lily's mother!””
My shout echoed through the chamber.
Lily covered her ears.
I immediately lowered my voice.
“I'm sorry, sweetheart.””
She looked at me through her tears.
“Daddy, I remember now.””
My heart stopped.
“What do you remember?””
She clutched her rabbit against her chest.
“Mommy told me to hide under the stairs. She said Grandpa was angry.””
Father's face changed.
Lily continued, her voice shaking.
“I heard Mommy say she had copies. Grandpa said nobody would believe her. Then I heard a loud noise.””
She squeezed her eyes shut.
“When I came out, Mommy was on the floor. Daddy was holding her, and Grandpa was standing behind him.””
I could barely breathe.
“Then what happened, baby?””
“Grandpa told Daddy to drink some water. Daddy said no. Grandpa pushed the glass toward him.””
My father took a step forward.
“Enough.””
Gabriel raised the gun.
“Stay back!””
Lily flinched.
Father looked at her with sudden contempt.
“She was four years old. Children invent stories.””
“No,” I said.
I remembered.
The library.
Elena lying motionless.
My hands covered in her blood as I tried to stop it.
My father standing behind me, holding a glass.
Drink this, Vincent. You need to calm down.
I'd refused.
He struck me across the back of the head.
When I woke, Elena was gone.
I had spent three years believing I'd failed to save her.
But I hadn't killed her.
My father had taken her from me, then stolen my memories so I would never understand what he'd done.
I looked directly at him.
“You murdered my wife.””
Father's expression went blank.
Then he smiled.
“Prove it.””
A siren sounded outside.
Another followed.
Marcus's voice came through Reeves's radio.
“Detective, we have the perimeter secured. Additional units are arriving.””
Father's smile disappeared.
Reeves moved to arrest him.
But before anyone could reach him, Father pressed the black device.
The lights went out.
A metallic crash sounded behind us.
Then a gunshot.
When the emergency lights returned, Gabriel was on the floor, blood spreading across his sleeve.
Lily was screaming.
May you like
My father had vanished through a narrow door behind the filing cabinets.
And the ledger was gone.
