CHAPTER 7: THE FATHER WHO NEVER DIED
For fifteen years, Lily Hale had lived with a memory.
A memory of a father who disappeared.
A memory of a mother who cried silently every night.
A memory of a family that was destroyed before she was old enough to understand why.
She had spent years believing Thomas Hale was gone.
Dead.
Another victim of the dangerous world surrounding the Blackwood family.
But now…
He was standing in front of her.
Alive.
Breathing.
Looking at her with the same eyes she remembered from childhood.
The same eyes that used to calm her when storms frightened her.
The same eyes that had once promised:
“Daddy will always come back.”
But he never did.
Until now.
Lily could not move.
Her mind refused to accept what her eyes were seeing.
“You’re…”
Her voice broke.
“You’re alive.”
Thomas Hale looked at his daughter.
A thousand emotions crossed his face.
Regret.
Pain.
Love.
“I am.”
Two words.
Only two words.
But they destroyed fifteen years of believing a lie.
Lily stepped backward.
“No.”
Thomas looked hurt.
“Lillian…”
“No.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You don’t get to say my name like everything is normal.”
The warehouse became silent.
Victor watched carefully.
This was not the reunion he expected.
Because he understood something.
A person disappearing for fifteen years did not just leave an empty space.
They left wounds.
And wounds remembered.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
Thomas lowered his head.
“Yes.”
“You let Mom suffer.”
“Yes.”
“You let me grow up thinking nobody came for us.”
His voice was quiet.
“I know.”
Lily laughed bitterly.
A broken sound.
“You know?”
She wiped her tears.
“You know what it feels like to be a child and wonder why your father never came home?”
Thomas closed his eyes.
Every word hurt.
Because he deserved them.
“I know I failed you.”
Lily stared at him.
“Then why?”
The question finally came.
The question she had carried her entire life.
“Why did you leave?”
Thomas looked toward Victor.
Then back at his daughter.
“Because if I stayed…”
He paused.
“They would have killed you.”
Victor’s expression changed.
“Who?”
Thomas did not answer immediately.
Because even after fifteen years, the fear was still there.
Not fear for himself.
Fear for Lily.
“The people who killed your grandfather.”
Victor stepped forward.
“You knew who killed my father?”
Thomas looked at him.
“Yes.”
The answer was immediate.
Victor’s jaw tightened.
“Then why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because your father ordered me not to.”
Silence.
Victor froze.
“My father?”
Thomas nodded.
“Your father knew there was a traitor inside the family.”
Victor remembered Adrian’s words.
He knew there was a traitor.
But hearing it again from Thomas made everything heavier.
“He knew he was going to die?”
Thomas looked away.
“He knew there was a possibility.”
Victor’s hands tightened.
“And he did nothing?”
Thomas shook his head.
“No.”
A pause.
“He prepared.”
Victor frowned.
“What does that mean?”
Thomas looked toward Ethan.
The little boy was sitting quietly nearby, protected by one of Thomas’s men.
“Your father knew someone would eventually come for the Blackwood heir.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“Ethan?”
“Yes.”
Thomas looked serious.
“Your father spent his final months preparing a plan.”
“What plan?”
Thomas reached inside his coat.
He pulled out an old envelope.
The paper was worn.
The Blackwood family symbol was stamped on the front.
Victor recognized it immediately.
His father’s handwriting.
Impossible.
“My father wrote this?”
Thomas nodded.
“He gave it to me the night before he died.”
Victor took the envelope.
His hands were steady.
But inside, something was breaking.
For fifteen years, he had wanted answers.
Now they were finally arriving.
But every answer created more pain.
He opened the letter.
Only a few lines were written.
Victor,
If you are reading this, then I failed to stop the person closest to me.
Victor stopped.
His breathing changed.
He continued.
Do not trust the person who stands beside you the longest. Loyalty can become the perfect disguise for betrayal.
Victor looked up.
Slowly.
His eyes moved toward Thomas.
Then Adrian.
Because there was only one person who had stood beside him his entire life.
Adrian Cross.
Thomas saw the realization.
“He knows.”
Victor looked at him.
“What?”
“Adrian knows everything.”
The warehouse became colder.
Victor remembered.
Adrian had known about Lily.
Adrian had known about the traitor.
Adrian had known Thomas was alive.
Too many secrets.
Too many coincidences.
“Where is Adrian?”
Nobody answered.
Victor turned.
His security team member looked nervous.
“Sir…”
“What?”
The guard swallowed.
“We lost communication with the second vehicle.”
Victor’s expression changed.
“The second vehicle?”
“Yes.”
Victor’s voice became dangerous.
“Who was inside?”
The guard looked down.
“Adrian Cross.”
A terrible silence followed.
Thomas looked at Victor.
“He came here?”
Victor nodded slowly.
“He knew.”
Thomas sighed.
“Then we are already too late.”
Suddenly, the warehouse lights turned on.
Everyone raised their heads.
A voice echoed from the upper floor.
“Well…”
The voice was calm.
Familiar.
Too familiar.
“After fifteen years, everyone finally decides to tell the truth.”
Victor looked up.
His blood ran cold.
Because the man standing above them was someone he had not seen since childhood.
Someone who should have been gone.
Richard Blackwood.
Victor’s uncle.
The man who vanished after his father’s death.
The man everyone believed escaped.
Richard smiled.
“Hello, nephew.”
Victor stared.
“You took my son.”
Richard tilted his head.
“Technically…”
A pause.
“I saved him.”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“What?”
Richard looked down at Ethan.
“You have no idea what your empire has become.”
Victor stepped forward.
“You kidnapped a child.”
Richard’s expression hardened.
“No.”
He looked at Ethan.
“I protected the last innocent piece of this family.”
Lily stepped closer to Victor.
“This is insane.”
Richard ignored her.
His eyes remained on Victor.
“You think I am your enemy.”
A slow smile appeared.
“But the truth is…”
He pointed toward the darkness behind Victor.
“The enemy has been standing next to you for fifteen years.”
Everyone turned.
And then they saw him.
Adrian Cross.
Standing near the warehouse entrance.
Holding a weapon.
Victor stared.
The man who raised him.
The man who protected him.
The man he trusted.
Adrian looked at Victor with sadness.
“I’m sorry.”
Victor’s voice became cold.
“Why?”
Adrian said nothing.
Victor took another step.
“Why did you betray me?”
Adrian looked down.
And finally answered:
“Because your father was not the only person who deserved revenge.”
The words echoed through the warehouse.
Victor felt something inside him collapse.
The truth he had chased for fifteen years had finally arrived.
But it was not the truth he wanted.
Because the person he trusted most…
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Had been waiting fifteen years to destroy him.
Mình sẽ viết tiếp Chapter 8: The Betrayal of Adrian Cross ở phần tiếp theo.
