Chapter 8 - The Father Who Was Buried Alive
Adrian couldn't move.
Not because he was afraid.
Because his mind was fighting against what his eyes were seeing.
The man standing inside the elevator was older.
His hair was gray.
His face had deeper lines.
But Adrian knew that face.
He had spent years staring at photographs.
Years trying to remember every detail.
Every smile.
Every scar.
Every expression.
Because his father had died fifteen years ago.
At least, that was what everyone told him.
The man looked at Elena first.
Then Vincent.
Then finally Adrian.
And his eyes filled with something Adrian never expected.
Regret.
"Son..."
The word echoed through the hallway.
Adrian's breathing became heavier.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody dared.
Because everyone understood what this moment meant.
The impossible had happened twice in one night.
Elena was alive.
And now his father was standing in front of him.
Adrian slowly stepped forward.
"No."
The man looked hurt.
"Adrian..."
"No."
His voice became colder.
"You don't get to say my name."
The man's expression changed.
Not anger.
Pain.
"I know what I did."
Adrian laughed quietly.
But there was no humor in it.
"You know what you did?"
He looked around.
"Fifteen years."
His voice cracked.
"Fifteen years I believed my sister was dead."
Elena looked down.
Adrian turned toward her.
"You knew."
She didn't answer.
"You knew he was alive."
A tear rolled down Elena's face.
"I found out years later."
"How?"
She looked at their father.
"He found me."
The hallway became silent again.
Adrian looked back at the man.
"Why?"
The question was simple.
But it carried fifteen years of anger.
"Why did you let me bury you?"
His father lowered his head.
"Because if you believed I was dead, you would stop looking."
Adrian stared.
"Looking for what?"
The man hesitated.
And that hesitation told Adrian everything.
There was still another secret.
Another layer.
Another person behind everything.
"Tell me."
His father looked at him.
"The night Elena disappeared wasn't an accident."
Adrian's expression hardened.
"I know."
"No."
His father stepped closer.
"You don't."
The lights above them flickered.
The security screens suddenly changed.
The video disappeared.
A new image appeared.
A photograph.
A young Adrian.
Elena.
Their father.
Their mother.
A family picture.
But someone had crossed out one person.
Their mother.
And written beneath it:
SHE WAS THE FIRST ONE WHO KNEW.
Adrian stared at the screen.
"What is this?"
His father didn't answer.
Elena did.
"Mom wasn't a victim."
Adrian turned slowly.
"What?"
Elena's eyes were filled with fear.
"She knew everything."
The words felt impossible.
Adrian shook his head.
"No."
"Adrian..."
"No."
He stepped back.
"My mother died protecting us."
His father looked away.
"That's what she wanted you to believe."
The anger returned instantly.
Adrian grabbed his father's jacket.
"You better explain this."
Vincent moved forward.
"Adrian."
But Adrian didn't release him.
"Everyone has been lying to me."
His voice became quiet.
"You."
He looked at Vincent.
"Elena."
He looked at his sister.
"Now him."
He looked back at his father.
"So somebody is going to tell me the truth."
Nobody interrupted.
Because Adrian was no longer the frightened boy who lost his family.
He was the man who built an empire because he had nothing left to lose.
His father looked at him.
"You want the truth?"
Adrian nodded.
"Yes."
"Then you need to know why Elena disappeared."
A pause.
"She wasn't taken."
Adrian froze.
"What?"
Elena closed her eyes.
Her father continued.
"She ran."
The words cut deeper than any weapon.
Adrian looked at his sister.
"You left me?"
Elena immediately shook her head.
"No."
Her voice broke.
"I was trying to save you."
"From what?"
She looked at him.
"From our family."
Adrian said nothing.
Elena stepped closer.
"The night I disappeared, I found documents."
"What documents?"
"Documents proving our family wasn't what we thought."
His father looked toward the camera.
"They discovered she knew."
Adrian followed his eyes.
The camera.
The screens.
The hidden person watching.
"Who discovered?"
Nobody answered.
Then Adrian's phone vibrated.
Everyone looked at it.
Another message.
Unknown number.
Adrian opened it.
There was a video.
Ten seconds.
He pressed play.
The screen showed a woman sitting in a chair.
Her hands were tied.
Her face was hidden in darkness.
But Adrian recognized the voice immediately.
"Adrian..."
His blood turned cold.
Because that voice belonged to someone else.
Someone he thought was gone.
The woman lifted her head.
The light revealed her face.
Elena gasped.
Vincent stepped back.
Adrian stopped breathing.
Because the woman in the video was not Elena.
It was their mother.
Alive.
The video continued.
"I know you're watching this."
Her eyes looked directly into the camera.
"If you found Elena, then they failed."
Adrian couldn't blink.
His mother looked terrified.
Not acting.
Not pretending.
Terrified.
"There is something you need to know about your father."
The video glitched.
The sound became distorted.
Then one final sentence appeared.
"Your father didn't save Elena..."
The screen went black.
Everyone stood frozen.
Adrian slowly turned toward his father.
"What did she mean?"
His father said nothing.
Because he already knew.
Adrian took one step forward.
"Where is my mother?"
Still nothing.
Then the elevator behind them suddenly made a sound.
The doors began closing.
But before they shut completely, someone placed a hand between them.
A woman stepped out.
A woman Adrian had never seen before.
She looked at Elena.
Then smiled.
"You're finally all together."
Elena's face went pale.
Because she recognized her.
May you like
And the woman whispered one name Adrian had never expected to hear...
"Margaret."
