Chapter 5 - The Father Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
The name on the paper destroyed the last piece of certainty I had.
Daniel Cole.
My father.
The man I buried eight years ago.
The man whose funeral I attended.
The man whose death certificate was signed, filed, and forgotten by the world.
I stared at the signature until the letters blurred.
It couldn't be real.
It wasn't possible.
"Lily."
The little girl looked up at me.
"Is that your daddy?"
I couldn't answer.
Because I didn't know anymore.
My entire life suddenly felt like a story someone else had written for me.
I looked around the hospital room.
The open window.
The empty bed.
The note.
Someone had entered this room before us.
Someone had taken Claire.
And they wanted me to believe my dead father was involved.
The doctor finally reached us.
"What happened?"
I turned around.
"Someone was here."
His face changed.
"What?"
"Claire is gone."
The doctor rushed into the room.
He checked the empty bed.
The machines.
The window.
Everything.
Then he looked at me.
"That's impossible."
"Why?"
"Because Claire couldn't walk."
I froze.
"What do you mean?"
The doctor looked confused.
"She was unconscious. Even if she woke up, she was too weak to leave."
I looked at the window.
The curtains moved slightly.
"Then someone took her."
Nobody spoke.
The silence confirmed what we were all thinking.
Someone had come into the hospital.
Someone had removed Claire.
And nobody noticed.
Except me.
I looked back at the note.
"Ethan, if you want the truth about Lily, ask your father."
My fingers tightened around the paper.
"My father is dead."
The doctor didn't respond.
That bothered me.
"Isn't he?"
The doctor looked away.
"Mr. Cole..."
"Answer me."
He hesitated.
"I don't know."
Those three words felt worse than any answer.
"You don't know?"
"Claire told me years ago that some things about your family were not what they seemed."
I stepped closer.
"What things?"
The doctor looked toward Lily.
Then lowered his voice.
"She told me your father wanted everyone to believe he was gone."
My heart stopped.
"Why?"
"I don't know."
"You treated Claire for years. You knew she was hiding something."
"Yes."
"Then tell me what she was hiding."
The doctor stayed silent.
That silence made me angry.
"Everyone seems to know something except me."
Lily grabbed my hand.
I looked down.
Her small fingers were wrapped around mine.
She wasn't scared of the mystery.
She was scared of losing the only person who had stayed.
I took a breath.
"We need to leave."
The doctor looked surprised.
"Where?"
"Somewhere private."
I looked at the note again.
If my father was involved, I needed answers.
And I knew exactly where to start.
The old office building.
The place my father owned before he died.
The place where everything began.
The building looked smaller than I remembered.
Eight years could change a lot.
The streets around it had transformed.
New stores.
New apartments.
New faces.
But the building remained.
A forgotten piece of my past.
I parked outside.
Lily sat beside me.
"Is this where my mommy knew you?"
I looked at the old entrance.
"I think so."
She tilted her head.
"You don't remember?"
The question hurt.
Because she was right.
I didn't remember.
Or maybe I had been made to forget.
We entered through the side door.
The lock was broken.
That alone worried me.
Nobody had used this place in years.
At least, that's what I thought.
Inside, dust covered everything.
Old furniture.
Empty shelves.
A desk sitting in the corner.
My father's desk.
I walked toward it slowly.
Memories came back.
My father sitting there.
Working late.
Always saying the same thing.
"People only see what you allow them to see."
At the time, I thought he was talking about business.
Now I wasn't sure.
Lily followed me.
She looked around.
"My mommy was here."
I turned.
"How do you know?"
She pointed.
"That picture."
On the wall was an old photograph.
I had never seen it before.
It showed my father.
Claire.
And a baby.
Lily.
But standing beside them was someone else.
Me.
I was younger.
Maybe twenty-four.
And I was holding the baby.
My breathing stopped.
"No."
I stepped closer.
The photo was real.
I wasn't imagining it.
I had met Lily before.
I had held her.
I had been part of her life.
But somehow...
I forgot.
I touched the photograph.
"Why don't I remember this?"
Lily looked sad.
"Mommy said someone made you forget."
I turned toward her.
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
Instead, she walked toward my father's old desk.
She reached underneath it.
Then pulled something out.
A small metal box.
My heart started beating faster.
"Where did you find that?"
"My mommy showed me."
I took the box.
It was locked.
But the key around Lily's neck...
The key she carried all this time...
Fit perfectly.
I looked at her.
"Your mother gave you this?"
She nodded.
"She said only you could open it."
I unlocked the box.
Inside were documents.
Photographs.
A small recording device.
And a letter.
My name was written on it.
"Ethan."
I opened it.
The handwriting was my father's.
My hands shook.
"My son,
If you are reading this, then the truth has already found you.
I know you will be angry.
You have every right to be.
But before you judge me, you need to understand something.
I didn't disappear.
I was forced to."
I stopped reading.
Forced to?
My father continued.
"There are people who believe Lily should never exist.
People who believe your connection to her is dangerous.
I tried to protect you.
I tried to protect Claire.
But I failed."
I looked at Lily.
She was staring at the letter.
"Why would anyone hurt me?"
I didn't know how to answer.
I kept reading.
"The person who caused all of this is someone you trusted."
A cold feeling moved through me.
The next line was blurred.
The ink looked damaged.
Like water had touched it.
I carefully turned the page.
The final sentence was clear.
"Do not trust the person who comes to you claiming they saved Lily."
My stomach tightened.
Then I heard something.
A sound outside.
A car door closing.
I quickly folded the letter.
"Lily, stay behind me."
She grabbed my hand.
The footsteps approached the building.
Slow.
Confident.
Someone wasn't searching.
Someone knew exactly where we were.
The old office door moved.
I looked toward it.
The handle turned once.
Then stopped.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Then a voice came from the other side.
A voice I hadn't heard in eight years.
A voice I thought was buried forever.
"Ethan..."
I froze.
May you like
Because the person standing outside said my name like they had been waiting for me.
And then the door opened...
