CHAPTER 12 The Man Who Wanted Revenge
The rain started just after midnight.
Heavy.
Relentless.
The kind of rain that covered the world in a gray curtain.
Ethan stood by the window, watching the streets disappear beneath the storm.
He had spent the entire night reviewing everything.
The birthday party.
The videos.
The recordings.
The hidden child.
Marcus Vale.
Every secret connected like threads in a dark web.
And the most terrifying part was this:
Marcus had been waiting.
Waiting for years.
People like Marcus did not collect secrets because they wanted the truth.
They collected secrets because they wanted power.
Ethan looked at the sleeping figure on the couch.
Rosie.
She had refused to sleep in her room after hearing adults arguing again.
So Ethan let her sleep beside him.
Even in her sleep, her tiny hand was holding onto his shirt.
As if she was afraid he would disappear.
His heart broke.
Because she had spent too much of her childhood worrying about losing the people who were supposed to protect her.
He whispered:
“I’m here.”
Even though she couldn’t hear him.
He needed to say it.
He needed to remind himself too.
The next morning, Ethan received a call from Laura.
“Ethan.”
Her voice sounded urgent.
“What happened?”
“We found Marcus.”
Ethan immediately stood.
“Where?”
“He contacted us.”
A pause.
“He wants a meeting.”
Ethan frowned.
“Why?”
Laura became quiet.
“Because he says he knows everything.”
Ethan looked toward Rosie.
“Everything about what?”
“Your family.”
A pause.
“And Bethany.”
His expression changed.
“What about Bethany?”
Laura sighed.
“He claims Bethany was never the person who started this.”
Ethan remembered Daniel’s words.
Someone pushed her.
Someone wanted this.
“Where does he want to meet?”
Laura hesitated.
“I don’t think you should go alone.”
“I won’t.”
“Good.”
Ethan grabbed his jacket.
“Daniel is coming with me.”
The meeting location was an old restaurant outside the city.
A place that had been abandoned for years.
The broken sign above the entrance moved with the wind.
Inside, only one person waited.
Marcus Vale.
Ethan recognized him immediately from the old photograph.
Older now.
Gray hair.
Tired eyes.
But the same face.
The face of a man who carried years of anger.
Marcus looked at Ethan.
“So.”
A faint smile appeared.
“The son.”
Ethan sat across from him.
“Talk.”
Marcus laughed softly.
“Straight to the point.”
“Yes.”
“Your father taught you that.”
Ethan’s expression hardened.
“Don’t talk about him.”
Marcus leaned back.
“You hate him.”
“No.”
Ethan paused.
“I’m disappointed in him.”
Marcus smiled.
“That’s worse.”
Silence.
Then Marcus placed a folder on the table.
“Do you know why I left?”
Ethan didn’t answer.
“Because your father took everything.”
Marcus tapped the folder.
“My company.”
“My reputation.”
“My family.”
Ethan frowned.
“Your family?”
Marcus looked down.
“My son.”
A pause.
“Noah.”
The name hung in the room.
Ethan watched him carefully.
“You abandoned him.”
Marcus’s eyes sharpened.
“Did Richard tell you that?”
“Yes.”
Marcus laughed bitterly.
“Of course he did.”
He leaned forward.
“Your father always tells stories where he survives.”
Ethan said nothing.
Marcus opened the folder.
Inside were documents.
Old contracts.
Financial records.
Letters.
“He didn’t just hide Noah.”
Ethan looked at the papers.
“What else?”
“He destroyed me.”
Marcus explained.
Twenty years ago, when his company was growing, Richard secretly moved investors away from him.
He used information from their partnership.
He created a competing company.
Then blamed Marcus when the partnership collapsed.
Marcus lost everything.
His business.
His reputation.
His marriage.
And eventually…
His son.
“I spent twenty years watching him build a perfect life.”
Marcus’s voice became colder.
“While mine disappeared.”
Ethan looked at him.
“And Rosie?”
Marcus became silent.
For the first time, Ethan saw something.
Not anger.
Regret.
“I never wanted the child hurt.”
Ethan’s eyes narrowed.
“Then why did you let it happen?”
Marcus looked away.
That answer was enough.
“You knew.”
Marcus did not respond.
“You knew about Bethany.”
“Yes.”
The honesty shocked Ethan.
“How?”
“I gave her information.”
Ethan stood.
“You manipulated her.”
Marcus looked up.
“I gave her the truth.”
“No.”
Ethan’s voice was sharp.
“You gave her anger.”
Marcus stayed silent.
“You knew she was unstable.”
“Yes.”
“You knew she would hurt someone.”
Marcus looked down.
“I thought she would expose Richard.”
Ethan stared at him.
“And when Rosie got hurt?”
Marcus had no answer.
Because there was no justification.
Not one.
The conversation continued for hours.
And slowly, Ethan understood.
Marcus had not created the entire disaster.
But he had pushed the first domino.
He had found Bethany’s anger.
He had fed it.
He had watched from a distance.
Waiting.
The same way everyone else waited.
Waiting for someone else to act.
When Ethan finally stood to leave, Marcus spoke.
“You hate me.”
Ethan stopped.
“Yes.”
Marcus nodded.
“I understand.”
A pause.
“But you should hate your father more.”
Ethan looked back.
“Why?”
Marcus’s expression changed.
“Because he still hasn’t told you the biggest secret.”
Ethan froze.
“What secret?”
Marcus smiled sadly.
“The one he buried after Noah.”
Ethan’s heart sank.
“No.”
Marcus looked directly at him.
“Your father has another reason why he hid the truth.”
That evening, Ethan returned home.
Richard was waiting.
The moment he saw Ethan’s face, he knew.
“You met Marcus.”
Ethan stopped.
“Yes.”
Richard closed his eyes.
“What did he tell you?”
“That you destroyed him.”
Richard looked down.
“He told you that.”
“Is it true?”
Silence.
Then:
“Partly.”
Ethan laughed.
“Partly?”
Richard sat down.
“Life is complicated.”
“No.”
Ethan shook his head.
“People make choices.”
Richard looked at him.
“You sound like your mother.”
A pause.
Then Ethan asked:
“What is the other secret?”
Richard froze.
And that was the answer.
There was another secret.
“Dad.”
Richard didn’t speak.
“What did you hide?”
The older man looked toward the window.
Then quietly said:
“Before Noah…”
A pause.
“There was another child.”
Ethan felt his entire body go cold.
“What?”
Richard looked at him.
“A child who never got the chance to live.”
Silence.
The storm outside grew louder.
Ethan stared.
“What are you saying?”
Richard’s eyes filled with regret.
“I made a mistake.”
“No.”
Ethan stepped back.
“You made choices.”
Richard nodded.
“Yes.”
For the first time, Richard looked truly broken.
“And those choices destroyed more lives than I ever understood.”
That night, Ethan sat beside Rosie’s bed.
He watched her sleep.
A child.
Innocent.
Unaware of the storms created by adults before she was even born.
He realized something terrifying.
His family was not falling apart because of one terrible night.
It was collapsing because of decades of buried pain.
Secrets.
Lies.
And choices nobody wanted to admit.
Then his phone vibrated.
A message.
Unknown number.
But this time, the message was different.
You are looking for the truth.
Another message appeared.
But are you ready to know who your father really is?
Ethan stared at the screen.
His hands tightened.
Because he knew now.
The truth was not the end.
The truth was only the door.
And behind that door…
May you like
Was something his family had spent twenty years trying to hide.
End of Chapter 12
