Chapter 13: The Father Behind the Mask
Chapter 13: The Father Behind the Mask
Nathan sat inside his car for almost ten minutes.
The engine was off.
The world outside continued moving.
People walked past.
Cars drove by.
The city continued like nothing had happened.
But Nathan felt frozen.
Because one sentence had destroyed another piece of his reality.
Michael Carter controlled everything.
The man who raised him.
The man who taught him to ride a bicycle.
The man who sat beside his hospital bed when he was sick.
The man who told him:
"A family protects each other."
Was he the person behind all of this?
Nathan looked at the old photograph Eleanor had given him.
Thomas.
Michael.
Isabella.
Three people who knew the truth.
Three people who promised to protect him.
And somehow…
Everything ended in betrayal.
His phone rang again.
Ethan.
Nathan answered.
“What did Daniel say?”
There was silence on the other end.
Then Ethan replied:
“He’s awake.”
“And?”
“He wants to speak with you.”
Nathan gripped the steering wheel.
“Where?”
“The hospital.”
Nathan ended the call.
For the first time in hours, he felt something clear.
Not anger.
Not confusion.
A need for answers.
Thirty minutes later, Nathan arrived at the hospital.
Ethan was waiting outside Daniel’s room.
The moment Nathan saw him, he noticed something.
Ethan looked exhausted.
Like he had not slept.
Like he had been fighting a battle inside his own head.
“What happened?”
Ethan looked at him.
“Daniel is different.”
Nathan frowned.
“What does that mean?”
“He’s not defending himself.”
A pause.
“He knows what he did.”
Nathan opened the door.
Inside, Daniel was lying on the bed.
His face was bruised.
His confidence was gone.
The man who once smiled while betraying his closest friend now looked broken.
When Daniel saw Nathan, he looked away.
“Nathan.”
The voice sounded weak.
Nathan stood near the bed.
“Tell me.”
Daniel swallowed.
“I deserve your anger.”
Nathan’s expression remained cold.
“You deserve more than that.”
Daniel nodded.
“I know.”
“Then start talking.”
Daniel closed his eyes.
“I never wanted this.”
Nathan laughed quietly.
“Not wanting something and doing it anyway are different things.”
Daniel accepted the words.
“You’re right.”
A long silence followed.
Then Daniel spoke.
“Alexander found me five years ago.”
Nathan frowned.
“Five years?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he knew I hated being second.”
Nathan stared.
Daniel continued.
“You were always the one everyone respected.”
A bitter smile appeared.
“The perfect son.”
Nathan said nothing.
“I was jealous.”
Daniel looked down.
“And Alexander used that.”
Ethan crossed his arms.
“How?”
“He promised me power.”
Daniel looked at Nathan.
“He told me if I helped him remove you, I would become the new face of the company.”
Nathan shook his head.
“You were my friend.”
Daniel’s eyes filled with regret.
“I know.”
“Then why?”
Daniel looked away.
“Because I was weak.”
That answer was honest.
And somehow, that made it worse.
Nathan stepped closer.
“Did Vanessa know the entire plan?”
Daniel nodded.
“She knew part of it.”
“What part?”
“The pregnancy.”
Nathan’s expression hardened.
“She knew it was fake?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she do it?”
Daniel answered:
“Because Alexander convinced her that you were a monster.”
Nathan frowned.
“A monster?”
Daniel nodded.
“He told her your family destroyed hers.”
Nathan looked confused.
“Her family?”
Daniel hesitated.
“Vanessa’s father…”
He stopped.
Nathan waited.
“Her father was involved with Thomas Reed.”
Nathan froze.
Again.
Another connection.
“What does that mean?”
Daniel answered:
“He was the man who betrayed Thomas.”
Silence.
Nathan looked at Ethan.
Another missing piece.
Daniel continued.
“Vanessa believed you were responsible.”
Nathan shook his head.
“But I wasn’t.”
“I know.”
Daniel looked ashamed.
“But she didn’t.”
Nathan felt exhausted.
Everyone had been carrying a version of the truth.
Everyone had been acting based on incomplete information.
But people still got hurt.
“So why did Alexander turn against me?”
Daniel looked nervous.
“Because you were never the target.”
Nathan froze.
“What?”
Daniel continued.
“The target was Michael Carter.”
Nathan stared.
“But he’s dead.”
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Because Alexander believes Michael escaped punishment.”
Nathan frowned.
“What punishment?”
Daniel took a deep breath.
“Michael didn’t just hide your identity.”
Nathan felt his chest tighten.
“What else?”
“He hid what happened to Isabella.”
The room became silent.
Nathan’s face changed.
“What happened?”
Daniel looked at him.
“Your mother wasn’t killed because of the company.”
Nathan waited.
“She was killed because she discovered Michael’s secret.”
Nathan’s mind raced.
Michael.
Again.
The same name.
The same person appearing behind every door.
“What secret?”
Daniel looked at him.
Then whispered:
“Michael Carter was the one who betrayed Thomas Reed.”
Nathan felt like the floor disappeared.
“No.”
Daniel nodded.
“Yes.”
“He was Thomas’s friend.”
“Yes.”
“He protected me.”
“Yes.”
“Then why?”
Daniel answered:
“Because Michael loved power too.”
Nathan stepped back.
“No.”
Daniel continued:
“He didn’t start as a villain.”
A pause.
“But somewhere along the way, he became one.”
Ethan looked at Daniel.
“How do you know this?”
Daniel looked toward the window.
“Because Alexander showed me.”
Nathan laughed bitterly.
“So Alexander is suddenly telling the truth?”
Daniel shook his head.
“No.”
“He lies.”
A pause.
“But sometimes…”
“He tells the truth because it hurts people more.”
Nathan looked down.
That was the most terrifying possibility.
Alexander could be evil.
And still reveal real secrets.
Then Daniel reached under his pillow.
He pulled out a small device.
“I stole this from Alexander.”
Ethan immediately stepped forward.
“What is it?”
“A recording.”
Nathan looked at him.
“Of what?”
Daniel handed it over.
“Michael.”
Everyone froze.
Nathan stared.
“My father?”
Daniel nodded.
“The last conversation between Michael Carter and Alexander.”
Nathan took the device.
His hands trembled.
He pressed play.
Static filled the room.
Then a voice appeared.
Michael Carter.
Older.
Tired.
Afraid.
Alexander’s voice followed.
“You betrayed Thomas.”
Michael answered:
“I did what I had to do.”
Nathan froze.
Alexander continued:
“You destroyed his family.”
Michael replied:
“I protected mine.”
A pause.
Then Alexander asked:
“And what about the boy?”
Silence.
Then Michael said the words that destroyed Nathan:
“He was never supposed to know.”
The recording stopped.
Nathan stood completely still.
Because now he had heard it.
From Michael himself.
A sentence that could mean everything.
Or nothing.
But before he could understand…
His phone received a message.
From Eleanor.
Only one sentence.
“Now you know why Michael was afraid of the truth.”
Nathan stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
“But you still don’t know the final secret.”
A final secret.
The words felt impossible.
After everything.
There was still more.
Nathan looked at Ethan.
“What could possibly be left?”
Ethan looked at the recording.
Then at Nathan.
“I don’t know.”
Outside the hospital window, thunder rolled across the sky.
And Nathan finally understood.
His entire life had been a story written by other people.
May you like
But now…
He was going to find the final page himself.
