Chapter 7 - The Father Who Was Never Gone
The message on the wall stayed there.
He was hiding you from your father.
Nobody spoke.
Nora stared at those words until they stopped looking like letters.
Until they became something much worse.
A warning.
A truth she had spent her entire life missing.
"My father?"
Her voice was barely a whisper.
Adrian looked at her.
"Nora, what do you know about your father?"
She looked confused.
"What kind of question is that?"
"A necessary one."
Nora shook her head.
"My father died when I was young."
Claire looked down.
And that reaction told Nora everything.
"No."
Nora stepped back.
"Don't do that."
Claire looked at her.
"Do what?"
"Look at me like everyone else does when they know something I don't."
The room became silent.
Nora had spent years being the last person to know.
The last person told.
The last person considered important enough for the truth.
She was tired.
Adrian walked toward the desk.
"The person who wrote this knew Daniel."
He pointed at the message.
"And they knew something about your family."
Richard slowly sat down.
His face looked broken.
"There is something you need to know."
Nora turned.
"What?"
Richard took a deep breath.
"Your father didn't die."
The words hit harder than she expected.
Because she had heard them before.
Daniel.
Claire.
Now her father.
Another person who was supposed to be gone.
Another lie.
Nora laughed quietly.
A painful laugh.
"So everyone in my life just decided disappearing was easier than telling me the truth?"
Nobody answered.
Because nobody could.
Richard looked ashamed.
"Your father was involved with the Whitmore family before Daniel ever met you."
Nora frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"It means Daniel discovered your father wasn't just connected to this."
Richard looked at the hidden room.
"He was one of the people who started it."
Nora felt cold.
"My father?"
Claire stepped closer.
"Daniel didn't want you to know because he was afraid you would search for answers."
"And?"
Claire looked toward the hallway.
"And the people who had hidden the truth for years would know you found it."
Adrian suddenly looked at the window.
Everyone noticed.
"What?"
He didn't answer.
He walked closer.
The mansion was quiet.
Too quiet.
Then he saw it.
A small red light outside.
A camera.
Someone was watching them.
Adrian immediately moved.
"Everyone away from the windows."
The command was sharp.
Nora looked at him.
"What is happening?"
Adrian looked outside.
"Someone knows we're here."
The lights flickered again.
This time, they didn't turn off.
A phone rang.
Not Adrian's.
Not Victoria's.
Nora's.
Everyone froze.
She looked at the screen.
Unknown number.
Her hands shook.
She answered.
"Hello?"
For several seconds, there was only silence.
Then a man's voice.
Older.
Calm.
Familiar.
"Nora."
Her entire body froze.
She knew that voice.
She had heard it in old recordings.
In childhood memories.
In dreams.
A voice she thought she would never hear again.
"Dad?"
Nobody moved.
The voice continued.
"I know what Daniel found."
Nora couldn't breathe.
"Where are you?"
A pause.
Then:
"Closer than you think."
The call ended.
Nora stared at the phone.
Adrian immediately asked:
"What did he say?"
But before she could answer, Claire walked toward the door.
Her face had changed.
She looked terrified.
"What?"
Nora looked at her.
Claire whispered:
"He found us."
The mansion suddenly went silent.
Then came a sound from upstairs.
A door opening.
Everyone looked up.
Nobody was supposed to be there.
Adrian slowly reached for his weapon.
Richard stepped backward.
Victoria covered her mouth.
And Nora heard footsteps moving down the staircase.
Slow.
Careful.
Like someone who knew this house belonged to them.
A figure appeared at the top of the stairs.
An older man.
Gray hair.
Cold eyes.
Nora stopped breathing.
Because she knew that face.
She had seen it in every family photo.
Every memory.
Every dream.
May you like
Her father looked down at her and said:
"Nora... we need to talk about why Daniel had to disappear."
