Chapter 10: The Grandfather Who Was Never Dead
The basement lights flickered back on.
But Victor Carter was gone.
No footsteps.
No sound of a door opening.
Nothing.
Only the cold air moving through the hallway.
Ethan stood frozen with the birth record still in his hands.
The sentence kept repeating in his mind.
"Ethan Carter was never my grandson."
It was impossible.
It didn't make sense.
But neither had anything else from the past twenty-four hours.
A mother who didn't abandon him.
A father who might have stolen him.
A grandfather who was supposed to be dead.
And now...
A grandfather claiming Ethan wasn't even part of the Carter family.
"Where did he go?"
Daniel rushed toward the hallway.
He looked left.
Then right.
Nothing.
"He couldn't have disappeared."
Richard didn't move.
He was staring at the place where Victor had stood.
His face was completely different.
For the first time, Ethan saw fear.
Not anger.
Not frustration.
Fear.
"Dad?"
Richard didn't answer.
"Dad."
Richard slowly turned.
"You don't understand."
Ethan held up the file.
"Then explain."
Richard looked at the document.
The hidden name.
Victor Carter.
The man who had controlled his entire family.
The man who had returned from the dead.
Richard closed his eyes.
"I thought he was gone."
The words shocked Ethan.
"You knew he was alive?"
Richard remained silent.
That was enough.
Ethan stepped back.
"Everyone knew something except me."
His voice became bitter.
"My whole life was a stage, wasn't it?"
Richard looked hurt.
"No."
"Then what was it?"
Richard had no answer.
Because sometimes the truth was not a single explosion.
Sometimes it was a building collapsing one floor at a time.
Twenty minutes later, they returned to Room 307.
Nobody spoke during the entire walk.
The hospital seemed different now.
Every person walking through the hallway looked suspicious.
Every shadow felt like someone hiding.
Because Ethan finally understood.
The enemy wasn't trying to hide the truth.
They were protecting it.
Margaret sat quietly by the window.
When Ethan entered, she immediately noticed his expression.
"What happened?"
Ethan placed the file on the table.
"Victor Carter."
Her face changed.
A reaction so fast Ethan almost missed it.
But he saw.
"You know him."
Margaret looked down.
"I knew of him."
"Did you know he was alive?"
"No."
Her answer came too quickly.
Ethan stared at her.
She sighed.
"Yes."
The room went silent.
Ethan laughed softly.
Another broken laugh.
"Of course."
He looked around.
"Of course you knew."
Margaret's eyes filled with sadness.
"I didn't know where he was."
"But you knew."
She nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
Margaret looked at the floor.
"Because Victor Carter was the reason Anna was afraid."
Richard suddenly spoke.
"Tell him."
Everyone looked at him.
Margaret remained silent.
Richard continued:
"Tell him what Victor did."
Margaret took a deep breath.
"Victor built the Carter empire."
She looked at Ethan.
"But he built it on fear."
"What does that mean?"
"He believed family was not about love."
Her voice became quiet.
"He believed family was about control."
Ethan remembered Richard's childhood stories.
His father's strict rules.
His obsession with reputation.
The way mistakes were never forgiven.
Suddenly, everything looked different.
"Richard became like him."
Nobody answered.
Because everyone knew it was true.
Margaret continued.
"When Anna discovered Victor's secrets, she tried to expose him."
"Then why didn't she?"
"Because Victor found out."
Ethan's hands tightened.
"What did he do?"
Margaret looked at Richard.
Richard answered.
"He threatened everyone she loved."
The room became silent.
"Your mother."
A pause.
"Me."
Another pause.
"And you."
Ethan felt a chill.
"But Victor said I'm not his grandson."
Richard looked at him.
"Because he's lying."
"Are you sure?"
Richard hesitated.
That hesitation hurt.
Ethan noticed.
"Are you?"
Richard looked away.
And that was the first time Ethan realized something terrifying.
Richard didn't know either.
Later that night.
Ethan sat alone outside the hospital.
The city lights blurred through the rain.
His phone was filled with hundreds of messages.
Friends.
News pages.
People commenting on the bus video.
His reputation was destroyed.
But strangely...
He didn't care anymore.
The young man who cared about status and appearances felt like someone from another lifetime.
A shadow sat beside him.
Margaret.
"You hate me."
Ethan didn't answer.
After a while, he said:
"I don't know."
It was the most honest answer he had given.
Margaret nodded.
"I deserve that."
Ethan looked at her.
"Did my mother ever talk about me?"
Margaret smiled sadly.
"Every day."
The answer surprised him.
"Every day?"
"She carried your picture."
Margaret looked at the rain.
"She knew your favorite food."
"She knew the song that made you stop crying."
"She knew how you slept."
Ethan looked away.
His eyes became wet.
"Then why didn't she come back?"
Margaret was silent.
Then she said:
"Because she tried."
Ethan looked at her.
"What?"
"Anna came back."
His heart stopped.
"When?"
"Years after you disappeared."
The world became quiet.
"She came looking for you."
Ethan stood.
"Where?"
Margaret looked toward the hospital.
"She found Richard first."
A terrible feeling entered Ethan's chest.
"What happened?"
Margaret didn't answer.
She didn't need to.
Richard's face said enough.
Ethan turned.
"Tell me."
Richard looked broken.
"She found out you were safe."
"Then why didn't she see me?"
Richard closed his eyes.
"Because..."
A long pause.
"Because the night she came back..."
Everyone became silent.
Richard whispered:
"Someone shot her."
Ethan stopped breathing.
"What?"
Margaret covered her mouth.
Daniel looked down.
Richard continued:
"And before she died..."
Ethan's voice shook.
"What did she say?"
Richard looked directly at him.
The pain in his eyes was real.
For the first time.
"She said she forgave me."
Ethan felt the ground disappear.
His mother had returned.
She had found the truth.
She had tried to reach him.
And she died before seeing her son again.
But then...
A hospital alarm suddenly rang.
A nurse ran toward them.
"Mr. Hayes!"
Daniel stood.
"What happened?"
The nurse looked terrified.
"The patient in Room 307..."
Everyone froze.
"Michael."
The nurse swallowed.
"He woke up."
Hope appeared for a moment.
Then disappeared when she added:
"But he said something strange."
Ethan stepped closer.
"What did he say?"
The nurse looked at him.
"He said..."
She hesitated.
"He knows who killed Anna Carter."
The rain stopped.
Nobody moved.
Because after twenty-six years...
May you like
The person who knew the truth...
Was finally awake.
