Chapter 8: The Truth My Father Left Behind
Richard disappeared before we could find him.
That was the first thing Cole told me.
The second thing he told me was worse.
“He knows about the baby.””
I looked at him.
“How?””
He didn’t answer.
Because we both knew.
Someone had told him.
And there was only one person who had known everything.
My mother.
I looked at Darla.
She immediately shook her head.
“I didn’t tell him.””
“Then who?””
Nobody spoke.
The silence felt familiar.
Too familiar.
I was tired of silence.
“TELL ME.””
My mother flinched.
Then she sat down.
“There is something else.””
I closed my eyes.
Of course there was.
“There’s always something else.””
She cried quietly.
“I’m sorry.””
“No.””
I looked at her.
“Tell me.””
She opened the folder.
“There was a reason your father kept investigating Richard.””
“Why?””
“Because he believed Richard was trying to take something from him.””
“What?””
My mother looked at my stomach.
My blood turned cold.
“No.””
She shook her head.
“Not your baby.””
“Then what?””
She handed me another document.
A legal agreement.
My father’s name was on it.
I read the first page.
Then the second.
Then I stopped.
“This can’t be real.””
“What is it?””
Cole looked over my shoulder.
His expression changed.
“What?””
I handed it to him.
His eyes moved across the page.
“This is impossible.””
“What?””
He looked at me.
“Your father created a trust.””
“For what?””
“For his children.””
I frowned.
“My father only had me.””
Cole pointed to the paper.
“Not according to this.””
My hands went numb.
The document mentioned a second child.
A child born years before me.
A child nobody knew existed.
My mother whispered:
“Your father had another family before us.””
I looked at her.
“You never told me.””
“I found out after he died.””
“And you hid it?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because I thought it would destroy everything.””
I laughed.
“Everything is already destroyed.””
The next few hours were spent searching through old records.
Every answer created three more questions.
My father had been protecting someone.
Someone he never told me about.
Someone Richard wanted to find.
Finally, Cole discovered something.
A name.
A woman.
A location.
“My father knew about her.””
I looked at him.
“Who?””
“The woman your father had a child with.””
My heart pounded.
“And?””
“She disappeared.””
“Where?””
Cole looked at the paper.
Then at me.
“She lives twenty miles away.””
My mother stood suddenly.
“No.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She shook her head.
“You can’t.””
“Why?””
Her face filled with fear.
“Because if she’s alive…”
She stopped.
“Because what?””
My mother whispered:
“She knows the truth about your father’s death.””
The room went silent.
I stared at her.
“My father’s death?””
“Yes.””
“You said he died from a heart attack.””
My mother looked away.
And that was when I knew.
That was when I knew there was one final lie.
“What aren’t you telling me?””
She cried.
“Your father didn’t just die.””
I stepped back.
“What?””
“He was trying to expose Richard.””
My breathing stopped.
“And?””
May you like
Her voice became barely audible.
“Richard was the last person to see him alive.””
