Chapter 7 - The Man in the Photograph
Sadi grabbed the photograph.
“Where is my father?”
Desmond's father smiled.
“You've inherited his stubbornness.”
“Where is he?”
“Safe.”
“You expect me to believe you?”
“No.”
He looked toward Desmond.
“But I expect him to.”
Desmond rolled forward.
“You planted the bomb.”
His father didn't deny it.
“Yes.”
The word seemed to drain the room of oxygen.
Sadi looked at Desmond.
His face was completely still.
“Why?”
“Because you were going to expose me.”
“I was your son.”
“You were my obstacle.”
Desmond closed his eyes.
For years he had imagined the person responsible.
He had imagined a rival.
A traitor.
An enemy.
He had never imagined his own father.
“Where is Adrian?”
“Alive.”
“And Thomas?”
“Alive.”
“Bring them here.”
His father smiled.
“You're not in a position to give orders.”
A hidden door opened.
Adrian walked in.
Thomas followed.
Sadi covered her mouth.
“Dad.”
Thomas looked at her.
His eyes filled with tears.
“Sadi.”
She ran toward him.
They embraced.
For six years, she had imagined a thousand explanations.
None had prepared her for seeing him alive.
Thomas whispered:
“I'm sorry.”
She shook her head.
“You're here.”
Desmond watched them.
Something inside him broke.
His father had taken six years from them.
He had taken Desmond's ability to walk.
He had taken Sadi's father.
He had turned Adrian into a fugitive.
But the truth was finally standing in front of them.
Then the lights flickered.
Adrian shouted:
“Down!”
Everyone ducked.
A loud impact struck the warehouse wall.
No one was seriously injured.
Marcus moved between Desmond and the doorway.
“There's another person here.”
Desmond looked around.
His father was gone.
They searched the building.
Nothing.
Then Sadi found an envelope on the floor.
Her name was written on it.
She opened it.
Inside was a bank key and a note.
The evidence isn't in the ledger. It's in the hospital records.
Desmond's expression changed.
“The hospital.”
Marcus looked at him.
“What happened there?”
Desmond remembered.
Six months earlier, after the bombing, one nurse had disappeared.
A nurse who had been assigned to his recovery.
He had never asked why.
Sadi looked at him.
“Someone at the hospital knows what happened.”
Desmond nodded.
“We go tomorrow.”
That night, Sadi entered Desmond's bedroom.
He was awake.
“You okay?”
“No.”
She smiled faintly.
“Good.”
He looked at her.
“Good?”
“You're finally admitting it.”
Desmond laughed quietly.
Then Sadi sat beside him.
Neither spoke.
After a moment, Desmond said:
“When this is over, you should leave.”
She looked at him.
“Do you want me to?”
He couldn't answer.
She reached for his hand.
Before he could respond, his phone vibrated.
A message appeared.
THE NURSE FROM YOUR HOSPITAL IS AT THE ESTATE.
Desmond looked toward the bedroom door.
May you like
Someone knocked.
Three slow times.
