Chapter 6 - The Secret My Father Buried
Sebastian Cole had spent his entire life believing he knew his father.
He believed he understood the man who raised him.
A powerful businessman.
A strict mentor.
A man who taught him that trust was dangerous and weakness was something enemies could use against him.
But standing inside the abandoned warehouse in Chicago, watching Victor Raines take his final breath, Sebastian realized something terrifying.
His father had lied to him.
The man who taught him to search for betrayal had been hiding the biggest secret of all.
"My father..."
The words barely left Sebastian's mouth.
Vincent stood beside him, still watching the darkness where the shooter had disappeared.
"Sebastian."
But Sebastian didn't move.
He stared at Victor's body.
For years, Victor had been the traitor.
The man responsible for stealing Madeline away.
The man who knew about Lucas.
But with his final words, Victor had changed everything.
Your father never told you the truth.
Sebastian's entire world had shifted.
Because if Victor was telling the truth, then Madeline's disappearance wasn't just about someone inside his organization.
It went deeper.
Much deeper.
"Get him out of here."
Vincent looked surprised.
"Sebastian—"
"Now."
There was no anger in his voice.
Only control.
The kind of control that came when a man was forcing himself not to break.
Within minutes, Victor's body was removed.
The warehouse became empty again.
Except for one thing.
The question.
What truth had Sebastian's father taken to his grave?
Three hours later, Sebastian returned to Colorado.
The flight back felt longer than the flight there.
Vincent sat across from him, studying his friend carefully.
Sebastian hadn't spoken once.
Not about Victor.
Not about his father.
Not about Madeline.
Only one thing remained in his hand.
The photograph of Lucas.
When the plane landed, Sebastian immediately went back to the house.
Lucas was asleep.
Emma was sitting in the living room.
The moment she saw Sebastian's face, she knew something happened.
"What happened?"
Sebastian looked at her.
"Victor is dead."
Emma's expression changed.
"Who killed him?"
"We don't know."
A pause.
"But before he died, he told me something."
Emma waited.
"He said my father knew the truth."
The color disappeared from Emma's face.
Sebastian noticed.
"You know something."
Emma looked away.
"Emma."
She closed her eyes.
"I was hoping you would never have to find out this way."
Sebastian stepped closer.
"Find out what?"
Emma remained silent.
And Sebastian understood immediately.
"You knew."
Her eyes filled with regret.
"You knew my father was involved."
Emma whispered:
"Not involved."
She looked at him.
"Protecting."
The word made no sense.
"My father was protecting what?"
Emma walked toward a cabinet and removed an old envelope.
Sebastian stared at it.
"Where did you get that?"
"Madeline gave it to me."
His breathing stopped.
"When?"
"Before she disappeared."
Sebastian took the envelope.
The handwriting was familiar.
His father's.
Not Madeline's.
Sebastian opened it.
Inside was a single letter.
Sebastian,
If you are reading this, then the truth has finally found you.
His fingers tightened.
The letter continued.
I know you will be angry.
You should be.
There were things I should have told you.
Things I should have explained.
But I made a promise to someone I loved.
Sebastian stopped.
Someone he loved.
The next line made his heart race.
Madeline came to me when she discovered she was pregnant.
She was afraid.
Not of you.
Never of you.
She was afraid of the people around you.
Sebastian looked up.
Emma was crying silently.
He continued.
She believed someone inside your organization wanted to use the child against you.
She believed if they knew about your son, he would become a weapon.
So I helped her disappear.
Sebastian closed his eyes.
The pain was immediate.
His father knew.
His father knew Madeline was alive.
He knew about Lucas.
And he let Sebastian suffer.
For five years.
The letter continued.
I wanted to tell you.
Every day.
But Madeline made me promise.
She believed the less you knew, the safer you would be.
Sebastian laughed quietly.
But there was no humor.
"Safer."
He looked at Emma.
"She thought keeping me away from my son would protect me."
Emma whispered:
"She thought it would protect both of you."
Sebastian looked back at the letter.
Then he saw another page.
A handwritten note.
Not from his father.
From Madeline.
Sebastian,
If you are reading this, then I know you found Lucas.
I know you are angry.
I know you feel like years were stolen from you.
They were.
They were stolen from me too.
His eyes blurred slightly.
But please understand.
I never stopped loving you.
I never stopped believing you would find us.
Sebastian stopped reading.
For five years, he had wondered if Madeline forgot him.
If she moved on.
If she chose another life.
But she hadn't.
She had been waiting.
The final line was simple.
I left because I loved you.
Not because I didn't.
Sebastian lowered the letter.
For the first time since learning the truth, he allowed himself to feel everything.
The anger.
The grief.
The love.
The regret.
Vincent stood quietly nearby.
He had seen Sebastian in battles.
He had seen him lose friends.
He had seen him destroy enemies.
But he had never seen him like this.
Like a man finally understanding how much he had lost.
A small voice came from the hallway.
"Dad?"
Sebastian immediately looked up.
Lucas stood there.
Half asleep.
Holding his blanket.
The word stopped everything.
Dad.
Not Sebastian.
Not the man from the photograph.
Dad.
Sebastian walked toward him.
"Hey."
Lucas looked at him.
"Are you sad?"
Sebastian knelt.
"A little."
"Why?"
Sebastian thought about lying.
But he promised himself something.
No more secrets.
"Because I missed a lot of time with you."
Lucas looked confused.
"But you're here now."
Simple.
Honest.
A child's answer.
Sebastian nodded.
"Yes."
Lucas stepped closer.
"Then don't miss more."
The words hit harder than any truth he had discovered.
Sebastian pulled him into his arms.
And for the first time in years, he allowed himself to hold something without fear of losing it.
His son.
The next morning, Sebastian returned to work.
But this time, he wasn't hunting for revenge.
He was hunting for the truth.
Vincent placed a new file on the desk.
"We found something."
Sebastian looked up.
"What?"
"Your father's old private records."
"Where?"
"A hidden account nobody knew about."
Sebastian opened the file.
Inside were photographs.
Documents.
Names.
One name appeared repeatedly.
The same name connected to Victor.
The same name connected to the missing security footage.
The same name connected to Madeline's disappearance.
Sebastian stared.
"Who is this?"
Vincent looked at him.
"The person your father was protecting you from."
Sebastian looked down.
At the top of the file was one name.
A name he had never expected.
A name that changed everything.
Alexander Cole.
His uncle.
His father's younger brother.
A man Sebastian believed had died fifteen years ago.
But beneath the name was a recent photograph.
Alive.
Watching.
And underneath it was a note.
HE KNOWS ABOUT THE BOY.
Sebastian slowly closed the file.
The enemy wasn't outside his family.
It had always been inside.
May you like
And now, after five years of hiding...
The man who started everything knew Sebastian had found his son.
