Chapter 7: The Father He Never Knew
Ethan stared at the photograph.
Thomas.
His father's best friend.
His lawyer.
The man who had stood beside Ethan at his mother's funeral.
The man who had helped him take control of Bennett Industries.
The man who had called him “son” more times than Ethan could remember.
And now, beneath the photograph, five words burned into his mind.
YOUR REAL FATHER IS THOMAS.
“No.”
Ethan shook his head.
“No, that's impossible.”
Vanessa took the photograph from his hand.
Her face changed instantly.
She knew the man.
“You knew,” Ethan whispered.
Vanessa didn't answer.
“You knew.”
“I suspected.”
“That's not the same thing.”
“I didn't know for certain.”
Ethan grabbed the photograph back.
“Then why were you staring at it like you've seen it before?”
Vanessa's lips trembled.
“Because I have.”
“Where?”
“At your mother's house.”
“When?”
“Before she disappeared.”
Ethan stepped toward her.
“You've known this for years.”
“I knew your mother had a relationship with Thomas.”
“A relationship?”
Vanessa nodded.
“They were in love.”
Ethan stared at the photograph.
His mother was smiling.
Not the careful smile he remembered from childhood photographs.
This was different.
She looked happy.
Thomas stood beside her with one hand resting gently against her waist.
And behind them stood Michael.
Watching.
Ethan's stomach twisted.
“Why would Michael raise another man's child?”
Vanessa looked down.
“Because he couldn't have children.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“Michael was sterile.”
Victor suddenly spoke from across the room.
“Not exactly.”
They turned.
Victor had been searching the shelves.
He held an old medical file.
“Michael wasn't sterile.”
He opened the file.
“He had a genetic condition.”
Ethan took it.
His eyes scanned the report.
Then stopped.
“What's this?”
Victor pointed to a section.
“His condition made it almost impossible for him to have children.”
“Almost?”
“There was a treatment.”
Ethan looked up.
“Did he take it?”
“No.”
“Then how did I exist?”
Victor looked at Thomas's photograph.
“That's what Michael wanted to know.”
Vanessa whispered,
“He became obsessed.”
“With what?”
“Finding your biological father.”
Ethan stared at her.
“And when he discovered Thomas?”
“He didn't kill him.”
“Why?”
“Because your father was useful.”
Ethan's expression hardened.
“Useful how?”
Vanessa hesitated.
“Thomas knew everything.”
“About Black Meridian?”
“Yes.”
“About my mother?”
“Yes.”
“About me?”
“Yes.”
Ethan's hands curled into fists.
“Then why did Thomas stay?”
Victor answered.
“Because Michael threatened him.”
“With what?”
Victor looked at Ethan.
“With you.”
Silence.
Ethan slowly turned toward the steel door.
“My entire life…”
He swallowed.
“My entire life was controlled by these people.”
Vanessa stepped closer.
“I tried to protect you.”
Ethan laughed bitterly.
“By marrying me?”
“Yes.”
“By hurting Sophie?”
Vanessa's face crumpled.
“I didn't hurt her.”
Ethan turned sharply.
“You admitted it.”
“I lied.”
“Why?”
“Because Michael was listening.”
Victor's expression changed.
“What?”
Vanessa looked at him.
“The bruises weren't from me.”
Ethan froze.
“Then who?”
Vanessa's voice dropped.
“Thomas.”
The room became silent.
Ethan looked at the photographs again.
“No.”
“He came to the house when you were away.”
“Why would he hurt Sophie?”
“Because he was searching for the key.”
“But you said Sophie inherited it.”
“Yes.”
“From who?”
Vanessa looked at Ethan.
“Your mother.”
Ethan frowned.
“My mother gave it to Sophie?”
“No.”
“She gave it to me?”
“No.”
“Then who?”
Vanessa whispered,
“Your mother hid it inside Sophie.”
Ethan's face went blank.
“What?”
“Not physically.”
She pointed toward the photograph of Sophie.
“She left the proof with her.”
Ethan remembered the small metal key.
“The key isn't a key.”
“No.”
“It's a marker.”
“Yes.”
“For what?”
Vanessa looked toward the shelves.
“Something your mother wanted you to find.”
A sharp electronic beep interrupted them.
The room lights flashed red.
Michael's voice came through the speakers.
“Thirty minutes.”
Ethan looked up.
“Michael!”
No answer.
“Where is my daughter?”
Silence.
Then Michael spoke.
“She is with Thomas.”
Ethan froze.
“What?”
“Ask your real father what he did twenty-five years ago.”
The speakers went silent.
Ethan rushed toward the door.
“Open this!”
Nothing.
He slammed his fist against the steel.
“Open the damn door!”
Victor grabbed his shoulder.
“Stop.”
Ethan turned.
“My daughter is with Thomas.”
“I know.”
“Then we get out.”
Victor pointed toward the wall.
“There is another exit.”
They moved quickly.
Victor found a hidden panel behind a shelf.
He pulled it open.
A narrow passage appeared.
“Go.”
Ethan entered.
Vanessa followed.
Victor stayed behind.
Ethan turned.
“You're not coming?”
Victor shook his head.
“Someone has to stop the security system.”
“Victor.”
“I'll catch up.”
The panel closed.
Ethan and Vanessa moved through the tunnel.
After several minutes, they emerged inside the underground garage.
Ethan looked around.
No cars.
No people.
Then he heard a voice.
“Ethan.”
He turned.
Thomas stood beneath a single overhead light.
His silver hair was perfectly combed.
His suit was immaculate.
And in his hand was a small remote.
Beside him stood Sophie.
Her hands were tied.
A cloth covered her mouth.
Ethan's blood ran cold.
“Sophie!”
She struggled.
Thomas smiled.
“Hello, Ethan.”
Ethan stepped forward.
“Let her go.”
Thomas shook his head.
“You're still too emotional.”
“You hurt my daughter.”
Thomas looked at Sophie.
“She resisted.”
Ethan's eyes filled with rage.
“You're her grandfather.”
Thomas's smile disappeared.
“Yes.”
“Then act like it.”
“I am.”
“You call this being a grandfather?”
Thomas stepped closer to Sophie.
“You don't understand what she carries.”
Ethan's voice dropped.
“She carries nothing.”
Thomas laughed.
“She carries the last piece of your mother's inheritance.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
“What does he mean?”
Vanessa shook her head.
Thomas smiled.
“Your mother was smarter than all of us.”
He looked at Ethan.
“She knew Michael would eventually come for you.”
“What did she leave?”
Thomas reached into his pocket.
He pulled out an old cassette tape.
“She left this.”
Ethan stared at it.
“Her voice?”
Thomas nodded.
“She recorded it the night she disappeared.”
“Play it.”
Thomas shook his head.
“First, you answer one question.”
“What?”
“Do you want the truth?”
Ethan stared at him.
“Yes.”
Thomas smiled.
“Then ask Vanessa why your mother trusted her.”
Ethan slowly turned.
Vanessa's face had gone white.
“Vanessa?”
She couldn't speak.
Thomas continued.
“Ask her who opened the door for Michael twenty-five years ago.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa.
“Did you?”
Vanessa's eyes filled with tears.
“No.”
Thomas smiled.
“She did.”
Ethan stepped backward.
“No.”
Vanessa shook her head desperately.
“I didn't know what he would do.”
“What did you do?”
“I gave him the address.”
Ethan's face collapsed.
“You led him to my mother?”
“I thought he wanted to talk.”
“You gave him her location?”
“Yes.”
“And she disappeared.”
Vanessa cried.
“I didn't know he would hurt her.”
Thomas laughed.
“You always were good at pretending innocence.”
Ethan looked at Vanessa with disbelief.
“You knew.”
“I was nineteen.”
“You knew.”
“I was afraid.”
“You knew!”
His shout echoed through the garage.
Sophie began crying.
Thomas raised the remote.
Ethan immediately stopped.
“Don't.”
Thomas smiled.
“Good.”
He held out the cassette.
“You want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Then come closer.”
Ethan took one step.
Thomas pressed a button.
A door behind Ethan opened.
Two armed men appeared.
Vanessa whispered,
“Ethan…”
Thomas smiled.
“Welcome home, son.”
Ethan stared at him.
Then Thomas said the words that shattered whatever remained of Ethan's certainty.
“Your mother didn't disappear.”
Ethan's eyes widened.
“She escaped.”
“Where?”
Thomas's smile faded.
“She escaped with your real sister.”
Ethan froze.
“My... sister?”
Thomas looked toward Sophie.
“And Michael has been searching for her ever since.”
Ethan could barely breathe.
“Where is she?”
Thomas pressed the cassette into his hand.
“You're holding the answer.”
Then the garage lights suddenly went out.
A gunshot rang through the darkness.
Sophie screamed.
Ethan lunged forward.
When the emergency lights returned...
Thomas was gone.
The two armed men were unconscious.
Vanessa was on the floor.
And Sophie was missing.
Ethan's phone vibrated.
One new message.
YOU WANTED THE TRUTH.
Then another.
NOW FIND YOUR SISTER.
And beneath it was a photograph of a young woman.
The woman had Ethan's eyes.
Her name was written underneath.
EMILY BENNETT.
May you like
AGE: 26.
STATUS: ALIVE.
