Chapter 10 - Nathan stared at the headstone.His father's name.
His father's birth date.
His father's supposed death.
Wrong man.
The meaning hit him slowly.
“What did you do?” he asked Emma.
She opened her eyes.
“Your father disappeared.”
“You mean the body in the grave isn't him?”
“No.”
“Then who is it?”
“An associate.”
Nathan stared.
“Why fake his death?”
“Because your father wanted everyone to believe he was gone.”
“Where is he?”
Emma looked terrified.
“He's been watching you.”
Nathan felt cold.
“Where?”
She pointed toward the trees.
But there was no one there.
Police arrived.
Ethan disappeared into the fog.
Victoria stayed with Noah.
Emma was taken to the hospital.
Nathan spent hours pacing the corridor.
The doctor finally came out.
“She'll survive.”
Nathan exhaled.
Then he asked:
“Did she tell you who shot her?”
The doctor shook his head.
“No.”
Nathan's phone rang.
Unknown number.
He answered.
A familiar voice spoke.
“Still looking for me?”
Nathan stopped breathing.
It was his father's voice.
Impossible.
“You're alive.”
“Yes.”
“Where are you?”
“Closer than you think.”
Nathan looked through the hospital window.
A black sedan sat outside.
Its engine running.
The voice continued.
“You've always been stubborn.”
Nathan clenched his fist.
“You killed Emma.”
“No.”
“You destroyed my memory.”
“Yes.”
“You used my company.”
“Yes.”
“You took my son.”
“No.”
Nathan froze.
“You didn't take Noah?”
“Why would I?”
“Then who did?”
His father laughed.
“You still don't understand.”
“What?”
“The child belongs to the war.”
Nathan's voice hardened.
“He's my son.”
“No.”
Nathan stared.
“You're wrong.”
His father replied:
“He is Ethan's son.”
Nathan swallowed.
“I know.”
“No.”
The voice became colder.
“He is mine.”
Nathan froze.
The hospital hallway suddenly seemed silent.
“What did you say?”
“I was the one who ordered Emma's pregnancy.”
Nathan felt sick.
“That doesn't make sense.”
“You're still missing the final piece.”
“What piece?”
His father answered:
“Ethan isn't your brother.”
Nathan stopped breathing.
The phone dropped from his hand.
He picked it up again.
“What?”
But the call had ended.
Nathan ran into Emma's hospital room.
She was awake.
“You need to tell me the truth.”
Emma looked at him.
“What happened?”
“My father says Ethan isn't my brother.”
Emma closed her eyes.
Nathan's voice cracked.
“Is it true?”
She whispered:
“Yes.”
Nathan felt dizzy.
“Then who is he?”
Emma looked toward the door.
“Your father's firstborn.”
“That makes him my brother.”
“No.”
Nathan stared.
“What?”
Emma finally said the words.
“Ethan is your father's son.”
Nathan shook his head.
“That means…”
“You aren't.”
Nathan's face went blank.
Emma whispered:
“You were adopted.”
Nathan collapsed into the chair.
Everything he thought he knew about himself...
gone.
His father.
His brother.
His childhood.
His company.
His marriage.
All of it had been built on a lie.
Emma reached for his hand.
“You were chosen because your father needed a son he could control.”
Nathan looked at her.
“Who were my real parents?”
Emma's eyes filled with tears.
“They were connected to the ledger.”
“Names.”
She hesitated.
“Daniel and Sarah Carter.”
Nathan froze.
“Daniel Voss?”
Emma nodded.
The dead lawyer.
Nathan stared.
“My real father was the lawyer you said died?”
“Yes.”
Nathan's breathing became shallow.
“And my real mother?”
Emma looked down.
“She is still alive.”
Nathan stood.
“Where?”
Emma pointed to the hospital door.
Nathan turned.
A nurse stood there.
Holding a sealed envelope.
She looked directly at him.
“Mr. Carter?”
“Yes?”
“This was left for you.”
Nathan opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
An elderly woman.
And beneath it:
COME BEFORE MIDNIGHT.
A name was written.
SARAH VOSS.
Nathan looked toward Emma.
She was crying.
“Your mother has been waiting for you.”
May you like
Then the nurse whispered:
“And she knows who killed your first father.”
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