Chapter 8 - The Father in the DoorwayMarcus could not breathe.
The man in the doorway looked older.
Thinner.
His hair was almost entirely gray.
But there was no mistaking him.
David Whitmore.
Marcus's father.
The man buried twenty-eight years ago.
Marcus whispered:
“Dad?”
David said nothing.
Daniel slowly lowered his weapon.
David looked at him.
“You survived.”
Daniel nodded.
“So did you.”
Marcus stepped forward.
“You're alive.”
David's eyes filled with regret.
“I'm sorry.”
Marcus stared.
Sorry.
One word.
Twenty-eight years of absence contained inside it.
“You let me believe you were dead.”
“I had no choice.”
“You always had a choice.”
David flinched.
Marcus's anger finally broke through.
“You let Mom raise me alone.”
“She knew.”
“She told me you were dead!”
“She believed I was going to die.”
Marcus shook his head.
“I watched her cry for years.”
David looked down.
“I know.”
Rosa kept Lily behind her.
Victoria moved toward David.
“Why did you come back now?”
David looked at her.
“Because they found the ledger.”
Elliot stepped forward.
“No.”
David looked toward him.
“You were always impatient.”
Elliot raised his weapon.
Marcus reacted instantly.
He shoved Lily and Rosa toward the hallway.
Gunfire exploded.
The chandelier shattered.
Everyone dropped.
David tackled Elliot.
They crashed into the dining table.
Daniel fired.
The bullet struck Elliot's shoulder.
Elliot screamed.
Victoria dragged Marcus behind a pillar.
“Your father is one of them,” she whispered.
Marcus stared at her.
“What?”
“He knows where the original records are.”
David shouted from across the room.
“Marcus!”
Marcus turned.
“Don't trust her!”
Victoria froze.
David continued.
“She has been working for them from the beginning.”
Marcus stared at Victoria.
She shook her head.
“That's not true.”
David shouted again.
“Ask her about the Hargrove meeting.”
Marcus's face hardened.
“What meeting?”
Victoria looked away.
That was enough.
Marcus stepped toward her.
“Tell me.”
“I met them.”
“When?”
“Before we became engaged.”
“Why?”
“To find your father.”
Marcus stopped.
Victoria's voice broke.
“I needed to know whether the stories were true.”
“And?”
“I found him.”
Silence.
“You knew my father was alive?”
She nodded.
“I didn't know where he was. Only that he existed.”
Marcus looked devastated.
“You lied to me.”
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“Everyone says that.”
David approached.
“Marcus, listen to me.”
Marcus turned.
“What did you do all those years?”
David's face hardened.
“I ran.”
“From what?”
“The people who owned the operation.”
“What operation?”
David looked at Lily.
The toddler was holding the black device.
David went pale.
“That should not be here.”
Marcus looked down.
“What is it?”
David whispered:
“It contains the names of every person who was transported through your family's network.”
Marcus frowned.
“People?”
David nodded.
“Not cargo.”
Marcus stared.
“People.”
David's voice was barely audible.
“Witnesses. Informants. Scientists. Investigators. Anyone who knew too much.”
Rosa gasped.
David continued.
“Your grandfather moved them between safe houses.”
Marcus felt sick.
“Why?”
“Because some were hunted.”
“And some?”
David's eyes darkened.
“Some were the hunters.”
Marcus looked at Lily.
“Where did she get that?”
David shook his head.
“She didn't find it.”
“Then who gave it to her?”
David looked toward the staircase.
“Your mother.”
Marcus froze.
“My mother is dead.”
David nodded.
“She is.”
“Then how?”
David pointed toward the ceiling.
“She left something behind.”
Above them, the mansion speakers crackled.
A woman's recorded voice filled the room.
Marcus's mother.
“Marcus, if you're hearing this, it means your father came home.”
David closed his eyes.
Then the recording continued.
“And if he did, don't let him tell you the whole story.”
Marcus stared at his father.
The recording paused.
Then came the final sentence:
May you like
“Your father did not disappear.”
“He was released.”
