Chapter 6 - The Father I Was Never Supposed To Know
"Your father."
The words echoed inside the abandoned hangar.
I stared at my sister.
I waited for her to laugh.
To say it was a mistake.
To tell me I misunderstood.
But she didn't.
She just looked at me with the same sadness she had in her eyes twelve years ago.
The same sadness from the night I lost her.
"Claire..."
I stepped back.
"No."
My voice came out smaller than I wanted.
"No, that's impossible."
Adrian looked between us.
"What does her father have to do with Daniel?"
My sister didn't answer.
That was the moment I knew.
Whatever truth was hidden here was bigger than I imagined.
Bigger than Daniel.
Bigger than Lily.
Bigger than Adrian Voss.
I looked at my sister.
"You knew."
She lowered her eyes.
"You were too young."
"I was twenty-three."
"You were still my little sister."
The words hurt.
Because they sounded exactly like something she would have said before everything changed.
Before she disappeared.
Before my entire family became a collection of unanswered questions.
I stepped closer.
"You let me bury you."
Tears filled her eyes.
"I know."
"You watched me cry for you."
"I know."
"You watched Mom die believing you were gone."
Her face broke.
"I know."
The anger disappeared for one second.
Only pain remained.
Because no matter how much I wanted to hate her, she was standing in front of me.
Alive.
And that was a truth my heart didn't know how to handle.
Adrian moved closer.
"Claire."
I turned toward him.
"No."
My voice was firm.
"She answers me first."
He stopped.
For once, the most powerful man in the room listened to me.
My sister looked at the ground.
Then she took a deep breath.
"His name was Thomas Bennett."
My father's name.
A name I hadn't heard spoken aloud in years.
"What about him?"
She looked at Adrian.
Then at me.
"He wasn't who we thought he was."
I felt my stomach tighten.
"My father was a mechanic."
"No."
She shook her head.
"That was the life he created for us."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"What was he really?"
She hesitated.
Then whispered:
"He created the Black Circle."
Nobody moved.
Even Marcus looked shocked.
Adrian stared at her.
"That's impossible."
My sister looked at him.
"You knew him too."
The silence that followed was different.
Not confusion.
Recognition.
I looked at Adrian.
"You knew my father?"
His face hardened.
"I knew of him."
"That's not an answer."
Adrian looked away.
And that was answer enough.
I laughed quietly.
A broken laugh.
"Of course."
I looked around.
"Everyone knew everyone."
"My husband."
"My sister."
"My father."
I pointed at Adrian.
"And you."
My voice cracked.
"Everyone knew the truth except me."
Adrian stepped toward me.
"Claire, listen."
"No."
I shook my head.
"Daniel died because of this."
His expression changed.
"And now I find out my father started the organization that killed him?"
Nobody corrected me.
Because nobody could.
My sister walked closer.
"Claire, that's not the whole truth."
I looked at her.
"There is always another truth with you."
She accepted that.
Because she knew I was right.
"The Black Circle wasn't created to hurt people."
Adrian looked at her sharply.
"Don't."
She ignored him.
"It started as a way to expose powerful people who were protected by money and influence."
Marcus spoke quietly.
"Then it changed."
My sister nodded.
"Yes."
She looked at Lily.
"People took control."
"People like Adrian?"
The words came out before I could stop them.
The entire room became silent.
Adrian didn't defend himself.
That surprised me.
My sister answered.
"No."
She looked at Adrian.
"People like the people who tried to kill Lily."
Elena tightened her hold on the baby.
"Then why is Daniel involved?"
My sister looked at me.
"Because Daniel discovered your father left something behind."
"What?"
"A record."
"Of what?"
She looked toward the dark corners of the hangar.
"A list."
My heart sank.
"What list?"
"The names of everyone who took control of the Black Circle."
Adrian's expression changed.
"That list doesn't exist."
My sister looked at him.
"It did."
"Where?"
Her eyes moved to me.
I already knew.
I hated that I knew.
"Daniel gave it to Claire."
My hands went cold.
"No."
My sister nodded.
"He hid it inside something only you would keep."
I thought back.
Daniel.
Our apartment.
The things he left behind.
The boxes I couldn't open.
The memories I couldn't touch.
Then I remembered.
The old wooden music box.
The one Daniel gave me on our first anniversary.
I had kept it after his death.
I never understood why.
It never played anymore.
I thought it was broken.
But maybe it wasn't.
"Where is it?"
My sister asked.
I looked at Adrian.
"It's at my apartment."
His expression changed immediately.
"We need to go."
Marcus shook his head.
"Too late."
Everyone looked at him.
He was staring at the entrance.
A black vehicle had stopped outside the hangar.
Then another.
Then another.
Adrian's face became cold.
"How did they find us?"
Nobody answered.
Because we all knew.
Someone had tracked us.
Elena handed Lily to me.
"Hold her."
I looked at her.
"Why?"
"Because if something happens, you run."
I stared.
"You think I'm leaving her?"
Elena looked at me.
"No."
A small smile appeared.
"I think that's why I trust you."
The hangar doors began closing.
Fast.
Adrian looked toward Marcus.
"How many?"
Marcus checked the cameras.
"Too many."
Adrian reached for his weapon.
My sister grabbed his arm.
"No."
He looked at her.
"If they get inside, everyone here dies."
She shook her head.
"They don't want everyone."
A pause.
"They want Claire."
The words made my blood freeze.
Outside, footsteps approached.
Slow.
Calm.
Like whoever was coming already knew they had won.
Adrian looked at me.
"Stay behind me."
I almost laughed.
"That's your solution to everything?"
"It keeps people alive."
"Does it?"
He looked at me.
And for a second, I saw something in his eyes.
Fear.
Not for himself.
For me.
The first explosion hit the outer door.
The entire hangar shook.
Lily cried.
I held her tighter.
My sister looked toward the back of the building.
"There is another exit."
Adrian turned.
"Where?"
She pointed.
"Behind the old storage room."
Marcus frowned.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
He stepped closer.
"That room was sealed twelve years ago."
My sister's face changed.
"Exactly."
The second explosion was louder.
Metal screamed.
The main door started bending inward.
Someone was forcing their way inside.
Adrian grabbed my hand.
"Move."
We ran.
Through the dark storage area.
Past old equipment.
Past abandoned boxes.
Until we reached a massive metal door covered in dust.
My sister stopped.
"This is it."
I looked at her.
"What is behind that door?"
She didn't answer.
Because she was looking at me.
Not Adrian.
Not Marcus.
Me.
"Your father's last secret."
Adrian stepped forward.
"No one opens that door."
My sister looked at him.
"Why?"
His face turned pale.
"Because I was there the night it was locked."
The hangar shook again.
The enemy was inside.
We had seconds.
My sister entered a code into the keypad.
The screen flashed red.
Wrong.
She tried again.
Red.
Again.
Red.
Then she looked at me.
"Claire."
I didn't understand.
"What?"
She took my hand.
Placed my fingers on the scanner.
The screen changed.
Green.
Everyone froze.
The door unlocked.
Slowly.
A cold breath of air came from inside.
And from the darkness beyond the door, a recording started playing.
A man's voice.
A voice I had not heard in twelve years.
My father's voice.
"Claire."
I stopped breathing.
The recording continued.
"If you are hearing this, then they failed to keep you away from the truth."
Adrian stepped back.
Because he recognized the voice.
My father continued:
"And Adrian Voss..."
The room went silent.
"Before you tell my daughter what happened, she deserves to know what you did to her family."
Adrian's face changed.
Because the next words were not a warning.
May you like
They were an accusation.
And then my father's recording revealed the name of the person who ordered Daniel Bennett's death...
