Chapter 3: The Father Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The voice came from downstairs.
“Ryan?””
My entire body went numb.
Not because I recognized it.
Because I didn’t.
And somehow, that was worse.
A father’s voice should be something buried deep inside you. Something your bones remember even when your mind forgets.
But when I heard that voice, I felt nothing.
No warmth.
No familiarity.
Only fear.
Ava squeezed my hand harder.
“Daddy, don’t let him take me.””
I looked down at her.
The way she said it wasn’t like a child asking for comfort.
It was like someone who had already lost everything once.
And was terrified it would happen again.
I stepped in front of her.
Nobody was taking this child anywhere.
Not tonight.
Not from me.
Emma stood frozen near the wall, tears streaming down her face.
“Ryan…”
I turned toward her.
“You said my father was dead.””
She closed her eyes.
“I thought he was.””
“That’s not an answer.””
My voice cracked through the room.
“You told me my parents died twelve years ago.””
“I believed they did.””
“You believed?””
Daniel moved closer.
“Ryan, listen to me.””
I ignored him.
I couldn’t look away from Emma.
The person I loved most in the world had spent years hiding pieces of my life from me.
Pieces that apparently included a daughter.
And a father who was supposed to be buried.
“Who is downstairs?””
Emma whispered:
“I don’t know.””
The footsteps moved again.
One step.
Then another.
Closer.
Daniel’s expression changed.
For the first time since I met him, he looked afraid.
“We need to leave.””
I stared at him.
“You knew he was alive.””
Daniel didn’t answer.
That was enough.
My anger exploded.
“You knew?””
He swallowed.
“I suspected.””
“You brought me here knowing he might be alive?””
“I brought you here because Ava needed you.””
“She needed me?””
I pointed toward the hidden room.
“She spent years trapped inside my house!””
Daniel’s face tightened.
“Because your father made sure nobody found her.””
The words hit me.
“My father?””
Daniel nodded.
“Your father knew Ava survived.””
Ava buried her face against my side.
I could feel her trembling.
My hands curled into fists.
“No.””
The voice downstairs came again.
“Ryan, I know you’re up there.””
Everyone froze.
The voice sounded calm.
Too calm.
Like a man walking into his own home.
Like he belonged here.
Daniel looked toward the door.
“He knows.””
I lowered my voice.
“Knows what?””
“That you remember.””
A cold wave moved through me.
“But I don’t.””
Daniel looked at me.
“You’re starting to.””
Before I could answer, the bedroom door handle moved.
Slowly.
Someone was trying to open it.
Emma gasped.
“There’s another way out.””
I turned toward her.
“What?””
She pointed at the hidden passage.
“The old tunnel connects to the basement.””
Daniel shook his head.
“No.””
Everyone looked at him.
He continued:
“He knows about it.””
The door handle moved again.
Ava started crying silently.
I knelt beside her.
“Hey.””
She looked at me.
“I’m going to protect you.””
Her eyes searched my face.
“Even if you forget me?””
The question destroyed me.
Because I knew she wasn’t asking about tonight.
She was asking about before.
About all the years she spent waiting for someone who never came.
I touched her cheek.
“I won’t forget you.””
A loud knock came from the door.
Three slow knocks.
Then the voice.
“Ryan.””
I stood.
The door opened slightly.
And an old man stepped inside.
My breath caught.
Because I knew that face.
Not from memories.
From photographs.
From the framed picture sitting in the hallway of my childhood home.
My father.
Thomas Carter.
Older.
Thinner.
But alive.
He looked at me like he had been waiting years for this moment.
“Hello, son.””
Nobody spoke.
I couldn’t.
My brain was screaming that this was impossible.
My eyes were telling me it was real.
Thomas looked past me.
His gaze landed on Ava.
And his expression changed.
Not surprise.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
“Where did you find her?””
The question made my blood run cold.
I stepped forward.
“You knew.””
Thomas looked at me.
“Ryan—”
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You knew she was here.””
His face remained calm.
“I was trying to protect you.””
I laughed.
A bitter, broken sound.
“Protect me?””
I looked around the room.
“At what point did trapping a child inside my wall become protection?””
Thomas’s jaw tightened.
“She wasn’t trapped.””
Ava flinched.
That was enough.
I turned toward him.
“Don’t lie.””
For the first time, my father’s expression changed.
Something like sadness crossed his face.
“You don’t understand what happened.””
“Then explain.””
Silence.
I stepped closer.
“Explain why my daughter thinks I abandoned her.””
Thomas looked at Ava.
Then back at me.
“Because you did.””
The room went silent.
My heart stopped.
“What?””
Thomas’s voice was quiet.
“You left her.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“You did.””
“I would never.””
Thomas stared at me.
“You already did once.””
The words felt like a knife.
I wanted to scream.
I wanted to deny everything.
But then something happened.
A memory surfaced.
Not a dream.
Not a fragment.
A real memory.
A little girl sitting on my shoulders.
Laughing.
A sunny afternoon.
A woman crying.
My voice saying:
“I promise I’ll come back.””
Then darkness.
I grabbed my head.
Pain exploded behind my eyes.
Ryan.
Someone calling my name.
Ava.
Ava’s voice.
“Daddy, don’t go.””
I stumbled backward.
Emma caught my arm.
“Ryan?””
I looked at her.
“You knew.””
Her face collapsed.
“I knew pieces.””
“What pieces?””
She looked terrified.
“That you had another life before me.””
The room felt unreal.
Thomas walked toward me.
“Your memories weren’t erased because of an accident.””
I looked up.
“Then why?””
He hesitated.
“Because you asked us to.””
The words froze me.
“What?””
Daniel looked shocked too.
“What are you talking about?””
Thomas stared at me.
“Ryan wanted to forget.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“You were broken.””
“No.””
“You couldn’t live with what happened.””
My breathing became uneven.
“What happened?””
Thomas looked at Ava.
Then at me.
“You were there the night she disappeared.””
The little girl stepped backward.
“No…”
Everyone turned.
Ava was crying.
“No, Daddy was trying to save me.””
The words cut through the room.
I looked at her.
“What did you say?””
She wiped her tears.
“You came back.””
My heart pounded.
“When?””
She looked down.
“The night they took me.””
Thomas’s expression hardened.
“Enough.””
Ava immediately went silent.
And I noticed something.
She wasn’t afraid of Daniel.
She wasn’t afraid of Emma.
She was afraid of my father.
I moved in front of her.
“Don’t tell her to be quiet.””
Thomas looked at me.
“You don’t know what you’re doing.””
“Then tell me.””
“I’m trying to keep you alive.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You’re trying to keep your secrets alive.””
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then a sound came from downstairs.
A phone ringing.
Thomas looked toward the hallway.
His face changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
Daniel noticed.
“Who is calling?””
Thomas didn’t answer.
The phone kept ringing.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
Then Thomas finally reached into his coat pocket.
He pulled out his phone.
But he didn’t answer.
Because the caller’s name was visible on the screen.
And when I saw it, my blood turned cold.
The caller was listed as:
*Ryan Carter.*
My name.
My phone.
My identity.
A number that should not exist.
Thomas slowly looked at me.
And whispered:
“The person who erased your memories is calling.””
The phone continued ringing.
And then a message appeared beneath the name.
One sentence.
Six words.
May you like
Six words that made Ava start screaming.
*“Don’t let him remember the basement.””*
