CHAPTER 7: THE MAN WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD
For ten years, everyone told the same story.
Victor Cross disappeared.
Not ran away.
Not escaped.
Disappeared.
Like a shadow that vanished when the lights turned on.
My father never spoke his name.
My mother avoided every conversation about him.
Evelyn almost never mentioned him.
And I never questioned it.
Why would I?
People disappear all the time.
That was what I told myself.
Until I saw the photograph.
Until I saw the man who was supposed to be dead.
Walking beside the person I trusted most.
I stared at Evelyn.
She stared back.
Neither of us moved.
The park around us continued as normal.
Children laughing.
People walking.
Dogs running through the grass.
A normal afternoon.
Except my entire understanding of my life had just collapsed again.
"Tell me I'm wrong."
My voice sounded different.
Older.
Tired.
Evelyn looked down.
"I can't."
The answer hurt.
Because I wanted a lie.
I wanted her to look at me and say:
"Nathan, this is a misunderstanding."
But Evelyn never did that.
She never gave me comforting lies.
Only painful truths.
And somehow...
That made everything worse.
"How long has he been alive?"
Evelyn didn't answer.
"How long?"
"Eight years."
I felt my chest tighten.
Eight years.
"You knew?"
She nodded.
"You knew my father thought he was gone."
"Yes."
"You knew my mother thought he was gone."
"Yes."
"You knew I thought he was gone."
Her eyes filled slightly.
"Yes."
I laughed quietly.
"You really are good at keeping secrets."
She looked away.
"I never wanted this."
"But you did it anyway."
"Yes."
There it was again.
That honesty.
That unbearable honesty.
"Why?"
Evelyn took a long breath.
"Because Victor wasn't the same person anymore."
I frowned.
"Meaning?"
"When he disappeared, he lost everything."
"Good."
The word came out colder than I expected.
Evelyn looked at me.
I didn't regret it.
"After what he did to my father?"
She nodded.
"I understand."
"Do you?"
"Yes."
Her voice was quiet.
"Because I felt the same way."
That surprised me.
"You hated him?"
Evelyn looked at the ground.
"I spent years trying to."
The answer was strange.
"Trying?"
She nodded.
"But hate is complicated when the person who hurt your family is also the person who raised you."
I said nothing.
Because I understood that feeling more than I wanted to admit.
"Did he hurt you?"
The question escaped.
Evelyn looked surprised.
Then she smiled sadly.
"That's the problem."
"What?"
"He didn't."
I frowned.
"Explain."
"My father was not a good man."
She paused.
"But he wasn't a monster every second of every day."
I looked away.
"People are rarely one thing, Nathan."
That sounded like something my father would say.
"He made terrible choices."
She continued.
"But when everything collapsed, he realized what he had become."
"And you believed him?"
"No."
A pause.
"I watched him."
I looked at the picture again.
"Where was he all these years?"
"Europe."
"Doing what?"
"Trying to rebuild his life."
I laughed.
"After destroying ours?"
Evelyn didn't argue.
Because she knew I had a point.
"Why did Claire know about this?"
Evelyn's expression changed.
That caught my attention.
"What?"
"You asked about Claire too quickly."
She looked away.
"Because Claire is connected."
"To Victor?"
"Not directly."
"Then how?"
Evelyn hesitated.
Too long.
"Evelyn."
She closed her eyes.
"Claire's father worked for Victor."
The world went silent.
"What?"
"Before the investigation."
I shook my head.
"No."
"Yes."
"You're saying Claire knew?"
"I don't know."
"You don't know?"
"I don't know how much she knows."
I stood.
"This is insane."
"I know."
"Everyone around me is connected."
"Yes."
"Everyone except me."
Evelyn looked at me.
And the sadness in her eyes almost broke me.
"Nathan..."
"What?"
"You were the only person who wasn't part of this."
That sentence stopped me.
"What does that mean?"
"It means your father tried to give you a normal life."
I looked at her.
"And you?"
She looked away.
"I tried to protect it."
That evening, I met Claire.
She wanted to meet at a quiet restaurant.
The same place where we had celebrated my promotion.
Funny how every important place in my life now carried a shadow.
When she arrived, she immediately knew something was wrong.
"What happened?"
I placed the photograph on the table.
Her face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
"You know him."
Claire looked at the picture.
Then back at me.
"Nathan..."
"Do you know him?"
Silence.
That was enough.
My heart sank.
"How long?"
She looked hurt.
"You think I knew?"
"I think everyone knows more than me."
Her eyes filled with frustration.
"That's not fair."
"Fair?"
My voice rose.
"Claire, my best friend knew my father before she met me. Your family worked with hers. A man everyone thought was gone is alive. And somehow I'm the only person who doesn't know what's happening."
People in the restaurant looked over.
I lowered my voice.
"How much do you know?"
Claire was silent.
Then she whispered:
"Enough to know Evelyn isn't telling you everything."
I closed my eyes.
"Again."
"Nathan..."
"No."
I looked at her.
"Everyone says the same thing."
"Because it's true."
"Then tell me the truth."
She hesitated.
And that hesitation destroyed something inside me.
"Claire."
She finally spoke.
"Your father didn't just investigate Victor."
I waited.
"He investigated something bigger."
"What?"
Claire looked around.
Then leaned closer.
"Victor wasn't the person who ordered the betrayal."
My blood ran cold.
"What are you saying?"
"I'm saying your father found out Victor was taking orders from someone else."
"Who?"
Claire's voice dropped.
"A group of investors."
"Which investors?"
She looked at me.
"The same people who funded your father's company."
I stared.
"Who?"
Claire whispered:
"The Reed Foundation."
I froze.
"What?"
"My father's records showed your family business wasn't destroyed by an outsider."
She swallowed.
"It was destroyed from inside."
I left the restaurant without saying goodbye.
My mind was spinning.
My family.
My father.
Evelyn.
Victor.
Claire.
Everyone had pieces of a puzzle.
But nobody gave me the whole picture.
When I reached my car, my phone rang.
Evelyn.
I almost ignored it.
Almost.
Then I answered.
"Nathan."
Her voice sounded urgent.
"You need to leave."
I frowned.
"What?"
"Wherever you are, leave."
"Why?"
"Because someone knows you found out."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Who?"
A pause.
Then Evelyn whispered:
"The people who killed my father's investigation."
I looked around.
The street was quiet.
Too quiet.
"Evelyn, what are you talking about?"
"I should have told you sooner."
Her voice cracked.
"Your father didn't have a heart attack."
I stopped breathing.
"What?"
"He was attacked."
The world froze.
"Who attacked him?"
Silence.
Then:
"The same person who is watching you right now."
My heart slammed against my chest.
Slowly...
I turned around.
Across the street.
A black car was parked.
The headlights were off.
But someone was sitting inside.
Watching.
Then Evelyn said the words that changed everything.
"Nathan..."
"Yes?"
"Don't go home."
"Why?"
"Because your house is already compromised."
I looked toward the black car.
Then toward my apartment in the distance.
And suddenly, I understood.
The past wasn't coming back.
It had never left.
It had simply been waiting for me to discover it.
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End of Chapter 7
Chapter 8: The Enemy Inside The House sẽ tiếp tục với việc Nathan phát hiện căn hộ của mình bị xâm nhập, tìm thấy những bằng chứng cha anh để lại và nhận ra có người đã theo dõi anh suốt nhiều năm.**
