Chapter 12 - My Father Was Alive
No one moved.
The voicemail played again.
“Emily, if you're hearing this, I'm alive.”
My mother sank into a chair.
Thomas whispered:
“Impossible.”
I replayed it.
The voice was unmistakable.
My father.
Daniel looked at me.
“What do you want to do?”
I pressed call back.
No answer.
Then a text arrived.
Come to the old house.
Alone.
I stared at it.
“No.”
Daniel took the phone.
“We're not doing that.”
I nodded.
“We go together.”
We drove to the house where my father had lived before disappearing.
It had been empty for years.
The front door was unlocked.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
Except one chair.
It was clean.
Someone had been sitting there.
Charlotte whispered:
“He's been here.”
A light came on upstairs.
We froze.
Then footsteps.
Slow.
Measured.
A man appeared at the top of the stairs.
Older.
Thinner.
Gray hair.
But the eyes were the same.
My father.
My breath caught.
He looked at me.
“Emily.”
I couldn't speak.
He walked down.
I stared at him.
“You're alive.”
He nodded.
“I am.”
My mother wasn't there.
For the first time, I understood why.
She couldn't face him.
My father looked at Charles.
Then Charlotte.
His eyes filled with tears.
“All three.”
Charlotte began crying.
He approached slowly.
“I searched for you.”
Charles shook his head.
“You left.”
“I was forced.”
“You could have come back.”
“I tried.”
My father looked at me.
“Your mother protected you.”
I shook my head.
“She lied to me.”
“She thought she was saving you.”
“Was she?”
He hesitated.
“No.”
That honesty hurt more than another lie.
He showed us a box.
Inside were photographs.
Letters.
Bank records.
And one final document.
“The trust belongs to all three of you.”
Daniel read it.
“Equal shares.”
My father nodded.
“The Charles clause was added later.”
“By Grandfather?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because he wanted to control you.”
My father looked at the baby.
“And now your son is being used to activate it.”
I held my baby closer.
“Can it be stopped?”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“Refuse the name.”
I stared.
“The legal name?”
“Yes.”
“Then what happens?”
“The trust remains frozen until all three heirs agree.”
Charlotte smiled faintly.
“Then we'll agree.”
Charles nodded.
My father looked relieved.
But then his expression changed.
“There is one more problem.”
“What?”
He pointed toward the window.
A black car was parked outside.
My stomach tightened.
“Who is that?”
My father whispered:
“The person who has been controlling your mother.”
Daniel moved toward the curtains.
“Don't.”
He stopped.
My father continued.
“He wants the trust.”
“Victor?”
“No.”
My blood ran cold.
“Then who?”
My father looked at me.
“Your grandfather.”
I stared.
“He's dead.”
My father shook his head.
“No.”
I felt the world collapse.
“You're saying my grandfather is alive?”
He nodded.
“He has been hiding for years.”
The lights went out.
Someone downstairs slammed the front door.
My father grabbed my arm.
“Run.”
A man's voice echoed through the house.
“Emily.”
I froze.
May you like
My grandfather's voice.
Then footsteps began climbing the stairs...
