Chapter 10: The Father Who Came Back From The Dead
For twelve years, I had imagined the moment I would see my father again.
I imagined a thousand different versions.
A dream.
A memory.
A ghost.
But never this.
Never a man walking through the front gate of my home with the same eyes I remembered and the same voice that had haunted my memories.
My father was alive.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
Even Victor, the man who always seemed to know everything, looked completely destroyed.
My father stepped into the mansion slowly.
He looked older.
His hair had turned almost completely gray.
There were scars on his face that I had never seen before.
But he was alive.
“Salvatore.””
Hearing my name from him broke something inside me.
I wanted to run to him.
I wanted to hit him.
I wanted answers.
Instead, I stood there.
Frozen.
“Why?””
It was the only word I could say.
My father looked at me.
And I saw pain in his eyes.
“I know.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You don’t know.””
Everyone in that room had a story.
A reason.
An explanation.
But I was the one who spent twelve years believing I had lost my father.
“I buried you.””
My father lowered his head.
“I know.””
“You let me mourn you.””
“I know.””
“You let me think you were gone.””
His eyes filled.
“I did.””
The anger I had held inside for years finally came out.
“Then explain why.””
Nobody interrupted.
Because everyone needed the answer.
My father looked at Adelaide.
“She kept the promise.””
My mother started crying.
“I had no choice.””
I looked between them.
“What promise?””
My father took a breath.
“The promise that kept you alive.””
I laughed bitterly.
“Alive?””
I pointed around the room.
“Mother was chained.””
He looked toward the stairs.
His face changed.
A father’s anger.
A husband’s pain.
“Who did that?””
Nobody answered.
But he already knew.
He looked at Victor.
Then Hattie.
Then the empty space where Nolan had disappeared.
“This started earlier than you realize.””
I stepped closer.
“Tell me everything.””
My father nodded.
“Twelve years ago, I discovered someone inside my organization was selling information.””
“Who?””
He looked at Victor.
Victor closed his eyes.
“I knew eventually you would find out.””
My father continued.
“Victor helped me disappear.””
I stared.
“You trusted him?””
“Yes.””
That answer surprised me.
“Why?””
“Because he was the only person willing to help me expose the truth.””
I looked at Victor.
The anger became confusion.
“You could have told me.””
Victor shook his head.
“Your father believed someone was watching you.””
“Who?””
My father answered.
“Your uncle.””
The room became silent.
Again.
“My uncle was dead.””
My father shook his head.
“No.””
He looked at me.
“He wanted everyone to believe that.””
My mother stepped forward.
“Your uncle never accepted that your father chose me over him.””
I felt the pieces slowly connecting.
The manipulation.
The documents.
The control.
The chain.
“Then Nolan and Hattie…”
“Were tools,” my father said.
I looked away.
That was somehow worse.
They had hurt my mother for someone else.
My father walked toward the table.
He placed the photograph he carried beside the documents.
“I found this after months of searching.””
The picture showed my mother.
The chain.
The same moment I had seen before.
But on the back was a message.
My father turned it over.
Three words.
*This is payment.*
My stomach tightened.
“Payment for what?””
My father looked at me.
“For the mistake I made years ago.””
I hated that answer.
“What mistake?””
Before he could answer, the mansion lights flickered.
Everyone turned.
A phone rang.
Not mine.
Not my father’s.
Hattie’s.
She looked terrified.
She stared at the screen.
Then whispered:
“He knows.””
I stepped toward her.
“Who?””
She slowly looked up.
“The man who started all of this.””
The call connected.
A voice came through the speaker.
Calm.
Confident.
Familiar.
“Adelaide.””
My mother froze.
The voice continued.
“I think it’s time we finish what we started.””
My father’s face changed.
Because he recognized the voice.
May you like
And when he whispered the name, everyone heard it.
“Your brother.””
