Chapter 4 - The Colonel They Never Knew
The hospital door opened slowly when my mother whispered: "Faye... don't turn around."
I ignored her warning and saw a man standing outside holding an old brown folder with my father's name written across it. Inside was the document that proved someone had rewritten my family's history. I suddenly realized my father's death was not a mystery someone forgot to solve.
It was a secret someone worked hard to protect.
The man standing at the hospital door didn't look like a threat.
That was what made him dangerous.
He was older.
Maybe late sixties.
Gray hair.
A simple dark jacket.
No expression on his face.
But the moment my mother saw him...
She stopped breathing.
I stepped between him and Chloe's bed.
"Who are you?"
The man looked at me.
Then his eyes moved to the uniform.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
"You became exactly what your father hoped you would become."
My entire body went still.
Nobody had spoken about my father like that in years.
Not since the funeral.
Not since everyone decided his story was finished.
"Answer my question."
The man looked at my mother.
"She deserves the truth."
My mother looked away.
That told me enough.
"You know who he is."
She nodded slowly.
"His name is Thomas Reed."
The man extended the folder.
"I worked with your father."
I didn't take it.
"My father was an accountant."
A small sadness crossed his face.
"No."
The word hit harder than I expected.
"Your father was someone who discovered things people wanted buried."
I looked at my mother.
Then back at him.
"What things?"
Thomas opened the folder.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Reports.
And one picture that made my hands freeze.
My father.
Standing beside Edric.
But they were not younger versions of themselves at a family event.
They were inside an office.
Sitting across from each other.
Talking.
I looked closer.
Behind them was a company logo.
A company I had never heard of.
"What is this?"
Thomas sighed.
"The beginning."
I turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
A date.
And my father's handwriting.
"Edric knows."
My stomach tightened.
"He knew him?"
Thomas nodded.
"They knew each other long before your mother met him."
The room felt colder.
My entire understanding of my family shifted.
Edric wasn't just the man who entered our lives.
He had been connected to us before.
"Why didn't my father tell me?"
Thomas looked at me.
"Because you were young."
"I was twenty-nine when he died."
"You were still his daughter."
That answer bothered me.
Because it sounded like something my father would say.
Protecting me.
Even when I didn't need protection.
I looked at Chloe.
She was still sleeping.
A seventeen-year-old girl who had spent years being told nobody would believe her.
And suddenly I understood something.
Secrets were not always hidden because people wanted power.
Sometimes they were hidden because people were afraid.
But fear did not excuse silence.
Not anymore.
I opened the folder.
The first document was a financial report.
The same transfer.
The same amount.
The same signature.
Edric Kaine.
But this time there was more.
A second name.
A company.
Morgan Security Holdings.
My father's name was listed as founder.
I stared at the page.
"My father owned this?"
Thomas nodded.
"Your father built it."
I laughed once.
Not because it was funny.
Because nothing made sense anymore.
"My father was a businessman?"
Thomas looked at me.
"Your father was many things."
I closed the folder.
"Stop giving me pieces."
He became quiet.
"Tell me everything."
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then Thomas spoke.
"Your father discovered that money was being moved through fake accounts."
"By Edric?"
"Not only Edric."
My eyes narrowed.
"Who else?"
Thomas didn't answer immediately.
That hesitation told me the truth was bigger.
"Your father tried to expose it."
"And?"
Thomas looked at the floor.
"He disappeared before he could."
My heart stopped.
"No."
I shook my head.
"My father died."
Thomas looked at me.
"That is the story everyone was given."
The words were quiet.
But they destroyed everything.
I stood there.
A soldier.
A daughter.
A sister.
Trying to separate facts from lies.
"Are you saying my father is alive?"
Thomas didn't answer.
And somehow...
That scared me more.
Because a lie can be denied.
Silence means someone is deciding how much truth you can handle.
The hospital room suddenly felt too small.
My mother finally spoke.
"Faye..."
I turned.
"How long have you known?"
She cried silently.
"I knew your father was in danger."
The answer cut deeper than anything.
"You knew?"
"I tried to stop him."
"No."
My voice shook.
"You watched him walk into danger."
She looked broken.
"I thought I was protecting you."
I stared at her.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
I picked up the folder.
"Everyone keeps using those words."
My mother covered her mouth.
But I wasn't finished.
"Protecting me meant letting me believe my father died?"
Tears fell down her face.
"He made me promise."
That stopped me.
"What?"
She looked at me.
"He told me if anything happened, I had to keep you away from the truth."
I looked at Chloe.
Then back at her.
"And you did."
My mother nodded.
"For twelve years."
The room went silent.
Then Chloe moved.
Her eyes opened.
"Faye..."
I rushed to her side.
"I'm here."
She looked at Thomas.
And immediately became afraid.
Not confused.
Afraid.
"You know him?"
Thomas looked shocked.
"Chloe?"
Her breathing became faster.
"You were there."
I froze.
"What does that mean?"
Chloe grabbed my hand.
"He came to the house."
My eyes moved toward Thomas.
"When?"
She swallowed.
"The night before Dad disappeared."
Nobody spoke.
Thomas looked like he had just been hit.
"Chloe..."
She shook her head.
"I remember."
The machines beside her bed started beeping faster.
The nurse rushed in.
But Chloe wouldn't let go of my hand.
"He gave Dad something."
Thomas stepped forward.
"I never hurt your father."
Chloe looked at him.
"I didn't say you did."
The room went silent.
Then she whispered:
"I said you were the last person who saw him."
Thomas looked away.
That was enough.
He knew.
I knew.
Everyone knew.
There was another piece missing.
After Chloe stabilized, I took Thomas to a private waiting area.
I needed answers.
Not half-truths.
Not protection.
Answers.
"Why were you there?"
Thomas sat down.
"Because your father called me."
"Why?"
"Because he found out who was behind the money transfers."
"Who?"
Thomas looked at me.
"Your father was going to tell you everything."
I waited.
"But someone found out first."
"Who?"
Thomas hesitated.
Then said:
"Edric."
I expected that answer.
But then he added something I didn't expect.
"Edric wasn't working alone."
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
Unknown number.
I opened it.
There was a picture.
My blood went cold.
It was a photograph of Chloe.
Taken inside the hospital.
Minutes ago.
She was sleeping.
Someone had been standing beside her bed.
The message underneath was short.
"Stop looking for your father."
I stared at the screen.
Then another message arrived.
One name.
A name I had never heard before.
But Thomas reacted the moment he saw it.
His face turned pale.
May you like
Because the message said:
"Ask Faye why her father was afraid of Evelyn Cross."
