Chapter 5 - The Return Of The Father I Lost
The message stayed on my brother's screen.
I kept staring at the photograph.
A man standing outside the ballroom.
A man I had spent ten years believing was gone forever.
My father.
Richard Marchetti.
The person who taught me how to ride a bicycle.
The person who held my hand when I was afraid.
The person who promised me that no matter what happened, he would always come back home.
But he never did.
At least...
That was what everyone told me.
"Isabelle."
Adrian's voice pulled me back.
I looked at him.
His face was full of regret.
And somehow, that hurt more than anger.
Because anger meant someone was fighting.
Regret meant someone had already accepted they were wrong.
"Tell me the truth."
My voice was quiet.
"Is my father alive?"
Nobody answered.
I looked at Marcus.
Then Julian.
Then Adrian.
The silence was enough.
My entire body went cold.
"How long?"
Adrian lowered his eyes.
"Isabelle..."
"How long did you know?"
He took a deep breath.
"Three years."
The words hit me harder than Damien's betrayal.
Three years.
For three years, my father had been alive.
For three years, my brothers had known.
And they let me believe I was alone.
I stepped back.
"You saw him?"
Adrian nodded slowly.
"Yes."
My eyes filled with tears.
Not because I was happy.
Not yet.
Because I didn't understand how someone could be alive and still be gone.
"Why?"
That was the only question I could ask.
"Why would he leave me?"
Nobody had an answer.
Or maybe they did.
They just didn't want to say it.
Nathan finally spoke.
"Because he was trying to keep you alive."
I looked at him.
"Alive?"
He opened the folder again.
Inside was another photograph.
This time, it wasn't my father standing beside Damien.
It was my father standing beside a man I recognized.
Damien's father.
But they weren't shaking hands.
They were arguing.
My father looked angry.
The other man looked afraid.
"When was this taken?"
I asked.
Nathan answered.
"Three days before the accident."
I stared at the picture.
"The accident wasn't an accident."
Nobody corrected me.
Because it was true.
My hands tightened around the photo.
"What did Damien know?"
Adrian looked toward the window.
"More than he admitted."
I closed my eyes.
The man I married.
The man who held my hand.
The man who told me he loved me.
Had been connected to the biggest pain of my life.
And I never knew.
"Where is my father now?"
Nathan looked at Adrian.
That exchange told me something.
They had been hiding more than one secret.
"Where?"
I demanded.
Adrian finally answered.
"He wanted to come here tonight."
My heart stopped.
"Here?"
"He knew Damien would reveal himself."
I frowned.
"What does that mean?"
Nathan placed another file on the table.
"This."
I opened it.
Inside was a timeline.
Dates.
Names.
Events.
My marriage.
Damien's company.
My father's disappearance.
Everything connected.
Then I saw something.
A date.
The day Damien proposed to me.
Beside it was another note.
"Phase One Complete."
I looked at Adrian.
"What is this?"
Nobody answered.
My breathing became heavier.
"Adrian."
My brother sat down.
And for the first time in my life...
He looked broken.
"Your marriage wasn't supposed to happen."
The room became silent.
I stared at him.
"What?"
Adrian looked at me.
"We thought Damien was getting close to you because of your father's company."
I felt like I couldn't breathe.
"You thought he married me for my money?"
"We didn't know for sure."
"But you suspected."
He nodded.
I laughed softly.
A painful laugh.
"So everyone knew I was being used except me."
"No."
Adrian immediately said.
"We didn't know if that was true."
"But you didn't tell me."
He couldn't answer.
Because there was no excuse.
I looked back at the documents.
"Why would my father allow this?"
Nathan looked at me.
"He didn't."
I froze.
"What?"
"Your father tried to stop the marriage."
The words made no sense.
"But he was gone."
"Exactly."
A cold feeling moved through me.
"Someone wanted him gone before he could tell you."
I looked at the documents again.
And then I saw it.
A signature.
A name.
A person who approved the final business transfer after my father's disappearance.
Damien Cole.
My hands started shaking.
"He took everything."
Marcus nodded.
"Not everything."
I looked at him.
"What does that mean?"
Marcus pointed to another document.
"Your father protected something before he disappeared."
"What?"
He slid the paper toward me.
A property record.
An address.
I recognized the location.
My childhood home.
The house my father supposedly lost after his death.
"The house was never sold."
I looked up.
"What?"
Julian nodded.
"Damien tried to take control of it."
"But he couldn't."
"Because your father left a condition."
I read the document.
My eyes stopped at the final line.
The property would belong only to Isabelle Marchetti when she discovered the truth.
I stared.
"He knew."
Adrian nodded.
"Your father knew one day you would find out."
A tear fell.
Not because I was sad.
Because for the first time in ten years...
I felt like my father hadn't abandoned me.
He had been fighting for me.
Then Nathan's phone rang.
Everyone turned.
He answered.
His face changed immediately.
"What?"
A pause.
Then:
"Where?"
My heart started racing.
"What happened?"
Nathan looked at me.
"The security cameras outside the building just detected someone."
Adrian stood.
"Who?"
Nathan didn't answer.
He looked at the screen.
Then slowly turned the phone around.
A live camera image appeared.
A man was standing outside the building.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakable.
My knees almost gave out.
Because even after ten years...
I knew that face.
My father's eyes.
My father's expression.
My father's voice came through the security speaker.
"Isabelle..."
I stopped breathing.
"Don't trust your brothers."
May you like
The screen went black.
And then the office door behind us slowly opened...
