CHAPTER 5 THE FATHER WHO CAME BACK FROM THE DEAD
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Clara stared at the stranger standing in the cabin doorway.
He looked at her with tears in his eyes.
“I’m your father.”
The words seemed to split the room in two.
Clara looked at Evelyn.
Her mother couldn't meet her gaze.
“Mommy?”
Evelyn finally opened her eyes.
“Clara, listen to me.”
“Is he my father?”
Evelyn's lips trembled.
“Yes.”
Clara felt as if the floor had disappeared beneath her.
“But Daddy is Daniel.”
“No.”
Evelyn shook her head.
“Daniel raised you. He isn't your biological father.”
The man stepped forward.
“My name is Adrian.”
Clara backed away.
“You're dead.”
Adrian stopped.
“That's what everyone believed.”
“Mommy told me Daddy died before I was born.”
“I never died.”
Clara looked at Evelyn.
“You lied to me too.”
Evelyn's face crumpled.
“I was trying to protect you.”
“Everybody keeps saying that!”
Clara shouted.
“Everybody lies and says they're protecting me!”
Silence.
Adrian lowered his head.
“You have every right to hate us.”
Clara wiped her tears.
“Why did you leave?”
Adrian looked at Evelyn.
“Because your grandfather made sure I couldn't stay.”
Richard's voice suddenly came from outside.
“Don't believe him, Clara.”
Everyone froze.
Richard stepped into the cabin.
He wasn't carrying a weapon.
He didn't need one.
He smiled calmly.
“Your mother has spent years rewriting history.”
Evelyn moved in front of Clara.
“Stay away from her.”
Richard ignored her.
He looked at Adrian.
“You really came back.”
Adrian's jaw tightened.
“I came back for my daughter.”
Richard laughed.
“You abandoned her.”
“You made me.”
“I gave you a choice.”
“You threatened to kill Evelyn.”
“And you chose to run.”
Adrian stepped forward.
“I chose to keep her alive.”
Richard's smile disappeared.
“Then why did you come back now?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Richard looked toward Clara.
“Because he needs something from you.”
Clara frowned.
“What?”
“The same thing everyone needs.”
Richard pointed toward her.
“The trust.”
Evelyn immediately said:
“Don't listen to him.”
Richard laughed.
“You see? She still thinks she can control the story.”
He walked closer.
“Clara, your mother never told you why I wanted you.”
“She said you wanted my money.”
Richard shook his head.
“Your mother doesn't understand money.”
Evelyn stared at him.
“Forty-two million dollars?”
“That's only what's visible.”
Clara looked confused.
“What else is there?”
Richard smiled.
“Your grandmother left more than money.”
He reached into his coat.
Then placed a small metal key on the table.
Clara stared at it.
“What is that?”
“The key to your inheritance.”
Evelyn stepped forward.
“Richard.”
He turned toward her.
“Tell her.”
Evelyn didn't speak.
“Tell her what your mother really left behind.”
Clara looked at Evelyn.
“Mommy?”
Evelyn sighed.
“She left you a safe.”
“What's inside?”
“I don't know.”
Richard laughed.
“Liar.”
Evelyn's eyes hardened.
“I never found it.”
“But Adrian did.”
Everyone turned toward him.
Clara looked at Adrian.
“You found it?”
Adrian didn't answer.
Richard smiled.
“Of course he did.”
Adrian finally spoke.
“I found the location.”
“And?”
“I couldn't open it.”
Richard looked at Clara.
“Because it requires your fingerprint.”
Clara stared at her own hand.
“Mine?”
“Yes.”
Richard took another step.
“Your grandmother designed the trust so nobody could access it until you turned eighteen.”
Clara frowned.
“But I'm nine.”
“Exactly.”
“So how can they get it now?”
Richard's smile became cold.
“They can't.”
Evelyn suddenly looked alarmed.
“Richard.”
He continued.
“But there is another clause.”
“What clause?”
Richard looked directly at Clara.
“If the child's legal guardian is declared unfit, temporary control can be transferred.”
Clara looked at Evelyn.
“What does that mean?”
Evelyn whispered:
“It means they're trying to take you away from me.”
Richard nodded.
“Exactly.”
Clara's heart pounded.
“Why?”
“Because once you're under Daniel's guardianship, he can control the trust.”
“But Daddy is already my guardian.”
“Not if your mother returns.”
Evelyn understood.
Richard smiled.
“That's why she had to remain dead.”
Clara suddenly remembered Vanessa's words.
Good girls know when to forget.
She looked at Richard.
“Did you tell Vanessa to say that?”
Richard laughed.
“No.”
Clara's eyes narrowed.
“Then who did?”
Richard didn't answer.
A strange expression crossed his face.
Then he looked at Adrian.
“You never told her.”
“Told me what?” Clara asked.
Adrian looked away.
“What?”
Evelyn stepped toward him.
“Adrian.”
He finally looked at Clara.
“There was someone else in the car that night.”
Clara froze.
“The night Mommy disappeared?”
Adrian nodded.
“I was there.”
Evelyn looked at him.
“You promised you would never tell her.”
“I can't keep lying.”
“What happened?”
Adrian's voice cracked.
“I went to the house because Evelyn called me.”
“Why?”
“She had discovered the ledger.”
“And?”
“She told me Richard was going to kill her.”
Richard interrupted.
“Enough.”
Adrian ignored him.
“I drove to meet her.”
Clara held her breath.
“When I arrived, Daniel was already there.”
Evelyn closed her eyes.
Adrian continued.
“They were arguing.”
“About what?”
“The money.”
Clara whispered:
“Then what?”
Adrian looked at her.
“Daniel hit your mother.”
Evelyn flinched.
“He knocked her unconscious.”
Clara covered her mouth.
“I tried to stop him.”
Richard smiled.
“You always were a terrible liar.”
Adrian's eyes filled with anger.
“Then Richard arrived.”
Clara stared at her grandfather.
“What did he do?”
Adrian said nothing.
Evelyn answered.
“He ordered Daniel to put me in the car.”
Clara felt sick.
“They drove me to the cliff.”
“And you?”
“I followed them.”
Adrian looked at Evelyn.
“When I reached the cliff, the car was already moving.”
“What happened?”
“Your mother jumped.”
Clara stared.
“She jumped?”
Evelyn nodded.
“I knew they were going to kill me.”
“So you jumped from the car?”
“Yes.”
“Into the river?”
“Yes.”
“Then how did you survive?”
Evelyn looked at Adrian.
“He found me.”
Adrian nodded.
“I pulled her out.”
Clara stared at him.
“But why didn't you come get me?”
Adrian's face collapsed.
“Because Richard had Clara watched.”
Richard smiled.
“And you believed me when I said I would kill her if you returned.”
Clara looked at her grandfather.
“You threatened to kill me?”
Richard's expression softened.
“I wanted to scare Adrian away.”
“You used me.”
“Yes.”
Clara's eyes filled with tears.
“You're horrible.”
Richard didn't react.
“Perhaps.”
Then his phone rang.
He answered.
“Yes?”
A voice whispered something.
Richard's expression changed.
He looked toward Evelyn.
“She's here.”
Evelyn froze.
Richard slowly smiled.
“Then we're finished.”
He ended the call.
“What happened?” Daniel asked from outside.
Richard turned toward the cabin door.
“Vanessa found her.”
Evelyn's face went white.
“Found who?”
Richard looked at her.
“Margaret.”
Thomas immediately raised his gun.
“Where?”
Richard smiled.
“Your old house.”
Evelyn understood instantly.
“The ledger.”
Richard nodded.
“She's going to burn it.”
Evelyn grabbed Clara.
“We have to go.”
Richard stepped aside.
“Too late.”
A scream suddenly came from outside.
Everyone froze.
Then another scream.
This one unmistakable.
Vanessa.
Daniel shouted.
“Help me!”
Evelyn looked toward the door.
Richard smiled.
“You should have stayed dead.”
A violent explosion shook the cabin.
The windows shattered.
Clara fell to the floor.
Smoke filled the room.
Thomas shouted:
“DOWN!”
Evelyn covered Clara.
Adrian pulled them behind the table.
Through the smoke, Clara saw someone standing outside.
A woman.
Holding a flaming briefcase.
Margaret.
She looked through the broken window.
Her eyes met Clara's.
Then she mouthed:
Run.
The woman turned and disappeared into the forest.
Richard rushed outside.
Daniel followed.
Thomas shouted:
“Don't let them get her!”
Adrian grabbed Evelyn.
“We have to move.”
Clara stood.
“Where?”
Evelyn looked toward the forest.
“To the house.”
“What house?”
“The Whitmore mansion.”
“But Daniel is there.”
Evelyn's expression became cold.
“Exactly.”
They ran into the darkness.
Behind them, Richard shouted something.
But Clara couldn't hear him.
She could only hear her mother's voice.
“Clara, whatever happens tonight, do not trust anyone.”
Clara looked at her.
“Not even Adrian?”
Evelyn hesitated.
That hesitation frightened Clara more than anything else.
“Mommy?”
Evelyn finally whispered:
“Especially Adrian.”
Clara stopped.
Adrian turned around.
“What did you say?”
Evelyn stared at him.
“You know exactly what I said.”
Adrian's face changed.
Thomas raised his gun.
Clara looked between them.
“What is happening?”
Evelyn stepped backward.
“Your father didn't come back to save us.”
Adrian's expression became cold.
“Evelyn.”
“You came back for the ledger.”
Adrian said nothing.
Evelyn looked at Clara.
“And you already gave him the key.”
Clara's eyes widened.
She looked down at her hand.
The metal key Richard had given her was gone.
Adrian was holding it.
He smiled.
Then he said something that made Clara's blood run cold.
“I’m sorry, Clara.”
He turned toward the darkness.
“But your mother was never supposed to survive the cliff.”
And behind him, Daniel appeared with a gun pointed directly at Evelyn.
The wedding ring on his finger caught the moonlight.
May you like
Then Daniel smiled.
“Now we finish what we started three years ago.”
