Chapter 9: The Truth Richard Buried
For several seconds after my father’s words, nobody spoke.
The bookstore felt completely silent.
Even the sounds from outside disappeared.
Sophie stared at the phone in my hand.
Her face had changed.
Not anger.
Not fear.
Something worse.
Pain.
“Lucas,” Richard said again.
“Ask her why she really ran.””
I tightened my grip on the phone.
“You knew she was alive.””
A pause.
Then my father answered calmly.
“Yes.””
The calmness made my stomach turn.
“You knew for twenty-two years?””
“I knew enough.””
Sophie stepped closer.
“Give me the phone.””
I handed it to her.
Her fingers shook as she held it.
“Richard.””
The moment my father heard her voice, he stopped.
For the first time, he had no prepared answer.
“Sophie.””
Her eyes filled with tears.
“You let them believe I was dead.””
“I was protecting the family.””
“No.””
Her voice was quiet.
But stronger than I expected.
“You were protecting yourself.””
My mother looked at her.
“What happened that night?””
Sophie closed her eyes.
For years, she had carried this story alone.
Now it finally had somewhere to go.
“When I found the records, I thought Dad would be angry.””
She looked at the floor.
“I thought he would yell. Take the papers. Tell Grandma I was wrong.””
She swallowed.
“I never imagined he would erase me.””
Richard’s voice came through the phone.
“You don’t understand what happened.””
Sophie laughed softly.
A painful sound.
“I understand everything.””
She walked toward the boxes behind the counter and pulled out an old notebook.
“I kept writing everything down because I was afraid I would forget.””
She opened it.
“The night I found the financial records, I went to Grandma’s room.””
She looked at me.
“I told her everything.””
My eyes widened.
“But the recording said you disappeared.””
Sophie nodded.
“Because before Grandma could confront him, Richard found out.””
The room became still.
“He came to Room 9.””
My chest tightened.
“He knew I was hiding here?””
Sophie looked at the walls.
“Room 9 was my room before you were born. Grandma had hidden a small space behind the bookshelf where I kept my drawings and toys.””
I looked around.
Everything suddenly made sense.
“He found me there.””
Her voice became softer.
“He told me nobody would believe me. He said Grandma would choose him because he was her son.””
My hands curled into fists.
“What happened next?””
Sophie looked at my father’s picture on the wall.
“He didn’t hurt me.””
Everyone went quiet.
“He did something worse.””
She looked at me.
“He convinced me that staying would destroy everyone.””
Richard interrupted.
“Because it would have.””
Sophie turned toward the phone.
“No. Because you made me believe I was the problem.””
The words hit harder than anger.
My father had not just hidden her.
He had taken away her place in the family.
“I left with Vanessa,” Sophie continued.
“Why did she help you?””
Sophie looked at Daniel.
“Because she found out Richard planned to blame everything on her if Grandma discovered the truth.””
Daniel nodded.
“My sister spent years trying to fix what she helped create.””
My mother looked at the evidence boxes.
“And Grandma?””
Sophie’s expression changed.
“She tried to bring me home.””
A tear rolled down her cheek.
“But Richard had already convinced everyone I was gone.””
She reached into the notebook and pulled out a small photograph.
It showed Grandma standing beside a young Sophie.
On the back was a message.
I will never stop looking for you.
I felt my throat tighten.
Grandma had never abandoned her.
She had been fighting a battle nobody knew existed.
Then Sophie handed me another document.
“This is what my father was trying to hide.””
I looked down.
Not contracts.
Not bank records.
A confession.
A written statement signed years ago.
My father’s name was on it.
My heart raced.
“What is this?””
Sophie looked at me.
“The reason he can’t deny the truth anymore.””
My phone suddenly buzzed.
A message appeared.
From my father.
One sentence.
Come home if you want to know why your grandmother really locked Room 9.
I stared at the screen.
Because suddenly I realized something.
Richard wasn’t trying to stop us.
May you like
He wanted us to come.
And that meant he had one last secret.
