Chapter 7: The Father I Lost Twice
I couldn’t speak.
The person standing in front of me had just rewritten twelve years of my life in a single sentence.
My father never died.
The words didn’t make sense.
They couldn’t.
Because if my father was alive…
What had I buried?
Who had I mourned?
What had my mother been crying over all those years?
I looked at Adrian.
And the expression on his face answered the question I didn’t want to ask.
He wasn’t surprised.
Not completely.
He was afraid.
“Adrian…”
He didn’t look at me.
His eyes stayed locked on the stranger.
“How did you find us?””
The person ignored him.
Instead, they looked at me.
“I know this is difficult.””
I almost laughed.
Difficult.
That was the word they chose.
“My father is alive, and you’re calling this difficult?””
My voice cracked.
The stranger lowered their eyes.
“I know what this feels like.””
“No, you don’t.””
I stood.
Adrian immediately moved closer.
Not touching me.
Just close enough.
A silent reminder that he was there.
I hated that I needed it.
“Who are you?””
The stranger took a breath.
“My name is Eleanor.””
My heart stopped.
Eleanor.
The name from the photograph.
The woman my father had written about.
The woman Adrian said was my mother’s missing sister.
“My aunt.””
She nodded.
“Yes.””
I stared.
The woman from the picture looked older now.
Her hair was shorter.
Lines marked her face.
But there was something familiar.
Something in her eyes.
A piece of my father.
“You’re alive.””
“Yes.””
“Everyone said you disappeared.””
“I did.””
“Why?””
Eleanor looked at Adrian.
Then back at me.
“Because I was trying to survive.””
The answer felt empty.
Like another secret wrapped inside another secret.
“You all keep saying that.””
My voice rose.
“You keep saying you were protecting me. You keep saying you had reasons. But nobody asked what losing everyone did to me.””
The room went silent.
Eleanor’s expression softened.
“You’re right.””
I wasn’t expecting that.
She stepped closer.
“Your father would have been proud of you.””
I shook my head.
“Don’t.””
“Claire—”
“Don’t talk about him like you knew him.””
Her eyes filled.
“I knew him better than anyone.””
The words hurt.
Because they sounded like Adrian.
Everyone knew my father except me.
Everyone had pieces of him.
Everyone had memories.
And I had a grave.
“Where is he?””
Eleanor hesitated.
That hesitation broke something inside me.
“Where is my father?””
She looked away.
“I don’t know.””
I froze.
“What?””
“He disappeared again.””
Again.
The word felt impossible.
“You’re telling me my father survived, then vanished?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“The night he left the accident.””
I turned to Adrian.
“The night you said he died.””
Adrian finally spoke.
“I saw him alive.””
I looked at him.
“What?””
His face was filled with guilt.
“When the car crashed, I thought he was gone.””
“Thought?””
“He wasn’t there when I woke up.””
I stared.
“What do you mean?””
Adrian swallowed.
“His body wasn’t in the car.””
The room went completely silent.
I felt dizzy.
“You told me he died.””
“I was twenty years old.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“I was injured. Confused. The police found the vehicle. They found evidence of the crash.””
“But not him.””
“No.””
My hands shook.
“So everyone just assumed.””
“Yes.””
“And you?””
His eyes lowered.
“I believed what I was told.””
The anger inside me weakened slightly.
Not disappeared.
But changed.
Because for the first time, I saw something I hadn’t considered.
Adrian wasn’t just hiding a secret.
He had been trapped inside one too.
“What happened after?””
Eleanor answered.
“Your father contacted me three days later.””
My eyes moved to her.
“He was alive.””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t he come home?””
Her face fell.
“Because he discovered who was behind everything.””
“Who?””
Nobody answered.
I looked between them.
“Why does nobody answer that question?””
Adrian stepped forward.
“Because we don’t know for certain.””
I stared.
“But you have a suspicion.””
“Yes.””
“Marcus Vale.””
The room became silent.
That was enough.
I laughed softly.
“My entire life has been connected to this man and I didn’t even know.””
Eleanor looked at me.
“Claire, Marcus wasn’t always the enemy.””
“Everyone says that.””
“What?””
“Everyone says things changed. Everyone says they had reasons.””
I looked at Adrian.
“Everyone says they were trying to protect me.””
Nobody spoke.
I turned away.
“I need air.””
“Claire.””
“I need a minute.””
I walked toward the balcony.
The city stretched below me.
Millions of people.
Millions of lives.
And somehow, my entire world had been a lie.
Adrian followed slowly.
But he stopped near the door.
Giving me space.
That hurt too.
Because once, he would have held me.
Now he was afraid to.
“I’m sorry.””
I stared outside.
“For what?””
“For every day you thought I stopped loving you.””
I closed my eyes.
“Adrian…”
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
“I need to say this.””
I turned slightly.
“I loved you every day after I left.””
The words hit me.
“I hated myself for leaving.””
“Then why?””
“Because your father asked me to.””
I froze.
“What?””
Adrian looked at the city.
“Before he disappeared, he found me.””
My heart raced.
“He was alive?””
“Yes.””
“When?””
“Two weeks after the crash.””
I turned completely.
“You saw him?””
“Yes.””
“And you never told me?””
His eyes filled with regret.
“He made me promise.””
I shook my head.
“Again with the promise.””
“He said if Marcus thought you knew the truth, you would become a target.””
“And you believed him?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
Adrian looked at me.
“Because Marcus had already tried once.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What does that mean?””
Before he could answer, Eleanor spoke from behind us.
“It means your father wasn’t the first person he tried to remove.””
I turned.
“What?””
Eleanor looked at Adrian.
Then at me.
“Your father discovered Marcus was using your family’s company to hide illegal financial deals.””
My stomach tightened.
“My father was investigating him.””
“Yes.””
“And Marcus tried to kill him.””
“Yes.””
“Then why didn’t he just finish the job?””
Eleanor’s face became serious.
“Because your father had something Marcus needed.””
“What?””
“A ledger.””
The word sounded strange.
A simple word.
But everyone reacted like it was a weapon.
“What kind of ledger?””
“The kind that could destroy powerful people.””
I looked at Adrian.
“And my father gave it to you?””
He nodded.
“No.””
The answer surprised me.
“He hid it.””
“Where?””
Adrian’s eyes moved to the black box on the desk.
The USB drive.
The key.
The photograph.
“I think he left clues.””
I walked back inside.
My hands hovered over the box.
“My father knew this day would come.””
“Yes.””
“He knew I would find out.””
“Yes.””
“And he trusted you to help me.””
Adrian looked at me.
“Yes.””
I picked up the USB drive.
The small piece of plastic suddenly felt heavier than anything I had ever held.
“What happens when I watch this?””
Nobody answered.
I looked at Eleanor.
Then Adrian.
“Tell me.””
Eleanor’s voice was quiet.
“You’ll learn why your father disappeared.””
A pause.
“And why he stayed away.””
My fingers tightened around the drive.
I moved toward the laptop on the desk.
Adrian watched me.
“Claire.””
I stopped.
“What?””
His voice was barely audible.
“If you watch this, there’s no going back.””
I looked at him.
“There hasn’t been a way back since you signed those divorce papers.””
Pain crossed his face.
But he nodded.
Because he knew I was right.
I inserted the USB drive.
The screen lit up.
One video file appeared.
No title.
Just a date.
The date of my father’s death.
My hands trembled as I clicked it.
The screen went black.
Then a familiar voice filled the room.
A voice I hadn’t heard in twelve years.
“Claire…”
I covered my mouth.
Tears immediately filled my eyes.
My father.
Older.
Tired.
Alive.
He looked directly into the camera.
“If you’re watching this, it means Adrian failed to keep you away from the truth.””
I looked at Adrian.
He closed his eyes.
My father continued.
“I’m sorry, my little girl.””
My breath caught.
“I wanted to come home.””
A pause.
“But someone I trusted betrayed me.””
The video glitched.
Then my father said the words that changed everything.
“Claire, before you blame Adrian…”
The screen flickered.
“And before you believe Marcus…”
A shadow moved behind him.
Someone else was in the room.
My father looked over his shoulder.
His expression changed.
Fear.
Real fear.
Then he whispered:
“They found me.””
The video cut off.
And in the silence that followed, Adrian’s phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His face went pale.
“What is it?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
He handed me the phone.
A message appeared.
From the same unknown number.
May you like
*You watched the video.*
*Now ask Adrian who was standing behind your father.*
