Chapter 7: The Man Who Died
Aaliyah forgot how to breathe.
The man standing across the yard was older than the photographs.
His hair was almost completely gray now. There were deep lines around his eyes, and a faint scar crossed his right cheek.
But there was no mistaking him.
Her father.
David Carter.
The man who had supposedly died three years ago.
The man whose funeral she had attended.
The man whose ashes her family had scattered beneath the oak tree behind the church.
Aaliyah shook her head.
“No.””
David took one slow step forward.
“Aaliyah.””
“No.””
She backed into Nadia.
“You're not my father.””
David's face tightened.
“I am.””
“My father is dead.””
“I know what they told you.””
“You're lying.””
“I wish I were.””
Aaliyah's eyes filled with tears.
“Then prove it.””
David reached into his coat.
Nadia immediately stepped in front of Aaliyah.
“Don't.””
David stopped.
“I only want to show her something.””
“You've done enough.””
Aaliyah looked between them.
“You two know each other.””
Nadia swallowed.
“Yes.””
“How?””
David answered.
“Because Nadia helped me disappear.””
Aaliyah stared at him.
“Why?””
“Because if I hadn't disappeared, you would have been killed.””
The words silenced her.
David slowly lowered his hand.
“I discovered what they were doing with the company accounts. Millions were being moved through shell companies. Your mother found out too.””
Aaliyah whispered, “My mother.””
“She tried to expose them.””
“What happened?””
David looked toward the house.
“They came for us.””
Aaliyah's voice trembled.
“You said you were with Mom that night.””
“I was.””
“What happened to her?””
David's expression changed.
For the first time, fear appeared in his eyes.
“She survived.””
Aaliyah covered her mouth.
“Where is she?””
David didn't answer.
Nadia did.
“She disappeared again.””
Aaliyah turned sharply.
“What does that mean?””
“After your father went underground, your mother stayed hidden,” Nadia said.
“She moved from place to place. Marcus eventually found her.””
Aaliyah's mind raced.
“So Marcus knew.””
David nodded.
“Marcus was the only person I trusted to get close to you.””
Aaliyah stared at him.
“Why him?””
“Because he saved your life once.””
“What?””
David looked away.
“Three years ago, the night of my funeral.””
Aaliyah's heart stopped.
“My funeral?””
David nodded.
“The body they buried wasn't mine.””
Aaliyah felt sick.
“Whose body was it?””
David's silence answered before his words did.
“Someone who looked enough like me to fool the people who arranged the funeral.””
Aaliyah stepped back.
“That's insane.””
“I know.””
“You expect me to believe that everyone lied to me?””
“Not everyone.””
“Who didn't?””
David looked directly into her eyes.
“Marcus.””
Aaliyah almost laughed.
“Marcus lied to me for a year.””
“He lied about the reason.””
“He knew my mother was alive.””
“Yes.””
“He knew you were alive.””
“Yes.””
“He moved our money.””
David nodded.
“He moved it to protect it.””
Aaliyah shook her head.
“Why didn't he tell me?””
“Because every time someone tried to tell you the truth, someone else disappeared.””
Aaliyah's stomach tightened.
“What do you mean?””
David looked at Nadia.
Nadia's eyes dropped.
“Your uncle,” she said quietly.
Aaliyah frowned.
“My uncle died of a heart attack.””
“No,” David said.
“He was poisoned.””
Aaliyah stumbled backward.
“No.””
“He had copies of the financial records,” David continued.
“He planned to give them to the authorities.””
“And?””
“They got to him first.””
Aaliyah's hands went numb.
She remembered the funeral.
The flowers.
Her aunt crying.
Marcus standing silently in the corner.
She had thought he looked uncomfortable.
Now she wondered if he'd been terrified.
A car engine suddenly roared from the front of the property.
David's face changed.
“They're moving.””
Nadia grabbed Aaliyah.
“Inside.””
They rushed toward the house.
“Wait!”” Aaliyah shouted.
Neither stopped.
She followed them through the back door.
The two men from earlier were gone.
David locked the door.
Then another sound came from upstairs.
A floorboard creaked.
David froze.
Nadia whispered, “We're not alone.””
Aaliyah's heart pounded.
Someone was walking down the staircase.
One step.
Then another.
David reached for something beneath his jacket.
Aaliyah whispered, “Who is that?””
The figure appeared at the bottom of the stairs.
Marcus.
Aaliyah stared.
His shirt was soaked from the rain.
His black backpack was still over one shoulder.
And his face looked completely exhausted.
“Marcus?””
He looked at her.
“I told you not to come here.””
Aaliyah stepped forward.
“You knew my father was alive.””
“Yes.””
“You knew my mother was alive.””
“Yes.””
“You knew everything.””
“No.””
She stopped.
Marcus shook his head.
“I knew enough to be afraid.””
Aaliyah's voice cracked.
“Then why did you leave me?””
Marcus looked at her for a long moment.
“Because last night, they finally gave me proof that they knew where you lived.””
Aaliyah's anger faltered.
“What proof?””
Marcus reached into his backpack.
He pulled out a photograph.
He handed it to her.
Aaliyah looked down.
It was a picture of her asleep.
In her bedroom.
Taken from inside her apartment.
Her blood ran cold.
On the back was a handwritten date.
*Last night.*
Aaliyah looked up.
Marcus whispered, “They were already inside your home before I walked out.””
She stared at him.
“You knew?””
“I saw the camera.””
Her voice became barely audible.
“Why didn't you tell me?””
“Because I didn't know who I could trust.””
Aaliyah looked at her father.
Then Nadia.
Then Marcus.
Three people holding pieces of a truth she had spent years believing was impossible.
Suddenly, a phone began ringing upstairs.
Everyone froze.
David whispered, “That's impossible.””
Marcus looked toward the ceiling.
“What?””
David's face went white.
“That phone hasn't worked in five years.””
The ringing continued.
Aaliyah stared at the staircase.
Then a voice came through the upstairs hallway.
A woman's voice.
Soft.
Familiar.
“Aaliyah?””
May you like
Her knees nearly gave out.
It was her mother's voice.
