Chapter 16: The Father I Never Knew
The room went silent after the video ended.
Not the peaceful kind of silence.
The kind that comes after something breaks and nobody knows how to pick up the pieces.
I stared at the black screen.
Your real father is not Marcus.
The words repeated in my head.
Over and over.
Like my brain was trying to reject them.
My father stood frozen.
My mother looked like she had seen a ghost.
And Nicole...
Nicole was crying.
Not pretending.
Not performing.
Actually crying.
"Who was in the video?"" I asked.
Nobody answered.
My voice became louder.
"Who was in the video?""
My father looked down.
That was all the answer I needed.
"You knew.""
He looked at me.
"Emma.""
"No.""
I stepped back.
"You knew.""
His face broke.
"I knew there was something Daniel was hiding.""
"That's not what I asked.""
He swallowed.
"Yes.""
My chest tightened.
"How long?""
"Since before you were born.""
The words hit harder than I expected.
My mother sat down.
She looked exhausted.
Like she had been carrying the weight of this secret for years.
"Marcus wasn't your biological father.""
I turned toward her.
The room spun.
"Then who was?""
She didn't answer immediately.
That hurt.
Because even now, everyone was still deciding how much truth I deserved.
"Mom.""
She closed her eyes.
"His name was Adrian.""
I had never heard that name before.
"Who is Adrian?""
My mother looked at me.
"Someone I loved before Marcus.""
I looked at my father.
"And you knew?""
He nodded slowly.
"I knew before I married your mother.""
My anger rose.
"Then why did you pretend?""
"Because I loved you.""
The answer came too quickly.
Too desperately.
"I didn't care that you weren't my blood.""
I looked at him.
"Then why hide it?""
His eyes filled.
"Because I was afraid.""
I laughed bitterly.
"Of course.""
The room became painfully quiet.
My father sat down.
"Your biological father disappeared before you were born.""
"Disappeared?""
My mother nodded.
"He was investigating Daniel.""
My heart sank.
"Another secret.""
She looked at me.
"Adrian discovered Daniel was involved in something much bigger.""
"What?""
"Fraud. Blackmail. Manipulation.""
I thought about the files.
The documents.
The custody cases.
"Daniel removed everyone who threatened him.""
My mother nodded.
"Yes.""
Nicole suddenly spoke.
"That's why he targeted me too.""
Everyone looked at her.
She wiped her face.
"Daniel didn't just use me.""
She laughed softly.
"He used all of us.""
My father looked at the flash drive.
"The video.""
We played it again.
This time, we watched carefully.
The camera angle was different.
At the very end, before it cut off, a reflection appeared in the window behind Daniel.
A person standing there.
Watching.
My mother leaned closer.
"Wait.""
She paused the video.
"What?""
She pointed.
"That person.""
The image was blurry.
But there was enough.
A face.
A familiar face.
My stomach dropped.
Because I recognized him.
Not from my childhood.
From the newspaper articles my mother had shown me.
"That's Adrian.""
Nobody spoke.
My mother covered her mouth.
"No.""
I looked at her.
"You said he disappeared.""
"He did.""
"Then how is he there?""
She stared at the screen.
Her voice barely came out.
"Because he wasn't missing.""
A cold feeling moved through me.
"He was hiding.""
My father stood suddenly.
"That doesn't make sense.""
But his voice sounded afraid.
Like part of him already knew.
The front door downstairs slammed.
Everyone froze.
A voice called from the hallway.
"Emma.""
My blood ran cold.
Because I knew that voice.
I had heard it before.
On the phone.
In the videos.
My mother stood slowly.
"No.""
The footsteps got closer.
Then a man appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Older.
Tired.
But alive.
He looked directly at me.
"Emma.""
May you like
My mother whispered his name.
"Adrian.""
