Chapter 7: The Father Who Never Died
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
The underground room was silent except for the faint hum of the servers around them.
Daniel Carter stared at the figure standing at the top of the stairs.
His mind rejected what his eyes were seeing.
It couldn't be real.
It wasn't possible.
The man standing there was supposed to be gone.
Not missing.
Not hiding.
Gone.
Twenty years ago, Daniel had watched his father disappear from his life.
He had attended a funeral.
He had mourned.
He had grown up believing he would never see him again.
But now...
There he was.
Older.
Different.
But unmistakably him.
"Thomas Carter."
Daniel said the name slowly.
His father looked at him.
A strange sadness appeared in his eyes.
"Hello, Daniel."
The room seemed to shrink.
Rachel wasn't there.
The police weren't there.
The trial wasn't there.
Only Daniel and the man who had been absent for most of his life.
"You died."
Thomas Carter remained silent.
Then he walked down the stairs.
"No."
Daniel's hands tightened.
"Everyone said you died."
"Everyone believed what they were told."
The answer felt like a knife.
Because it sounded too familiar.
Too much like Victor.
Too much like the entire nightmare Daniel had been trapped in.
"Another secret?"
Daniel laughed bitterly.
"Is that what this family does?"
"Disappear?"
"Lie?"
"Manipulate people?"
Thomas stopped.
The words hurt him.
Daniel could see it.
But he didn't care.
Not anymore.
"You left me."
His voice cracked.
"You left me alone."
Thomas lowered his eyes.
"I know."
"No, you don't."
Daniel stepped forward.
"When I was sixteen, I needed you."
"When the company started, I needed you."
"When everything became difficult, I needed someone to tell me what was right."
His eyes filled with anger.
"And you were gone."
The older man said nothing.
Because there was no excuse powerful enough to erase twenty years.
Andrew Cole watched silently.
Even Victor's betrayal had not affected Daniel this deeply.
This was different.
This was the wound beneath all the others.
The one Daniel had buried.
Finally, Thomas spoke.
"I left because I discovered something."
Daniel stared.
"About what?"
"Carter Technologies."
The room became quiet.
Thomas looked around the underground facility.
"This place was never supposed to exist."
Daniel frowned.
"What do you mean?"
"When I created the company, it was supposed to be different."
"You created it?"
Thomas nodded.
"Before you and Victor became partners, before the investors, before the fame."
Daniel looked confused.
"You never told me."
"I wanted to."
Thomas paused.
"But I discovered people inside the company were using it for something else."
Andrew looked at Daniel.
"The hidden system."
Thomas nodded.
"The moment I found out, I became a threat."
Daniel's expression changed.
"To who?"
Thomas looked at him.
"To everyone who benefited from the secret."
Twenty years earlier...
Thomas Carter was not a famous businessman.
He was an engineer.
A creator.
A man who believed technology should solve problems.
He built the first foundation of Carter Technologies with a simple idea:
Innovation should help people.
Not control them.
But as the company grew, investors arrived.
Powerful people became interested.
And slowly...
The original mission disappeared.
Thomas discovered that certain executives were creating secret systems.
Data collection.
Financial manipulation.
Corporate control.
The company had become something he never intended.
So he tried to expose it.
And that was when he disappeared.
"Why didn't you come back?"
Daniel asked.
Thomas looked at him.
"Because they threatened you."
The answer shocked him.
"What?"
"They told me if I returned, they would destroy you."
Daniel shook his head.
"That doesn't make sense."
"It does."
Thomas stepped closer.
"They knew you were the future of the company."
Daniel froze.
"Me?"
"Yes."
Thomas looked at him.
"You had something they didn't."
"What?"
"A conscience."
The words surprised Daniel.
Thomas continued.
"You were stubborn."
"You argued with people."
"You refused to accept easy answers."
A faint smile appeared.
"You were exactly the person they feared."
Daniel looked away.
He wanted to believe it.
But too many lies had surrounded him.
"Then why let me build the company?"
"Because I thought you could fix it."
Thomas's voice became heavier.
"But I was wrong."
A sudden sound interrupted them.
A phone ringing.
Everyone turned.
Victor stood near the entrance.
He had returned.
Daniel looked at him.
"You knew?"
Victor's expression was unreadable.
"Yes."
The answer shocked everyone.
"You knew my father was alive?"
Victor nodded.
"For years."
Daniel stepped toward him.
"And you never told me?"
Victor looked away.
"Because Thomas was right."
Daniel stared.
"What?"
Victor sighed.
"You were becoming like the people we were fighting."
The words hit harder than Daniel expected.
"You think I became the enemy?"
"No."
Victor shook his head.
"I think you became blind."
The room became silent.
For a moment, Daniel saw something beneath Victor's anger.
Pain.
Regret.
Maybe even guilt.
But then he remembered everything.
The trial.
The lies.
Emily.
"You still tried to destroy me."
Victor looked down.
"I tried to force you to see."
Daniel laughed.
"By sending me to prison?"
Victor didn't answer.
Because he knew there was no defense.
Suddenly, the computer screens flashed.
A warning appeared.
SECURITY BREACH DETECTED
Andrew rushed toward the keyboard.
"No."
Daniel looked at him.
"What?"
"Someone is accessing the files remotely."
Thomas's expression changed.
"Impossible."
Andrew looked at the screen.
"They found the server."
David stepped closer.
"Who?"
Andrew typed quickly.
Then stopped.
His face became pale.
"Not who."
Everyone looked at him.
"What do you mean?"
Andrew turned the screen around.
A single name appeared.
The person accessing the files.
The person controlling the attack.
The person who had been hidden behind everything.
Daniel stared.
Because he recognized the name.
It was impossible.
It belonged to someone who had been helping him throughout the trial.
Someone everyone trusted.
Someone who had stood beside him while pretending to protect him.
The screen displayed:
DAVID MILLER
Daniel slowly turned around.
His own lawyer.
His friend.
The person who was supposed to save him.
David stepped backward.
"No..."
Daniel's voice became quiet.
"Tell me this isn't true."
David looked at him.
And for the first time...
He had no explanation.
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End of Chapter 7
(Chương tiếp theo: Chapter 8: The Lawyer Who Wrote The Trap.)
