Chapter 9: The Truth My Father Took To His Grave
Nobody moved.
Not me.
Not Reed.
Not Noah.
Not even Captain Ward.
The four of us stood frozen in the dim light of my apartment, surrounded by years of secrets that had finally found a place to collide.
Ward looked older than he had when I saw him in his office.
The confidence was gone.
The authority was gone.
All that remained was a man who looked like he knew the end of a story nobody wanted to hear.
I raised my weapon.
“Don’t move.””
Ward looked at me.
A sad expression crossed his face.
“You sound exactly like your father.””
The words hit harder than they should have.
“Don’t talk about him.””
“I know you’re angry.””
“You have no idea.””
“No.””
His voice was quiet.
“I do.””
Reed stepped forward.
“You need to explain why you followed us here.””
Ward looked at him.
“You brought Noah.””
Reed’s face hardened.
“How do you know his name?””
Ward didn’t answer.
That was becoming his pattern.
Silence.
Half-truths.
Enough information to keep everyone searching.
“Tiana,” Noah said softly.
I looked at him.
“He’s lying.””
Ward’s eyes moved toward him.
And something changed.
Recognition.
Not surprise.
Recognition.
“You’re older than I expected.””
Noah’s expression darkened.
“You knew I was alive.””
Ward didn’t respond.
That was the answer.
My grip tightened around my weapon.
“Everyone knew.””
My voice cracked.
“Everyone except me.””
Nobody spoke.
I laughed once.
A broken sound.
“My father died protecting secrets. You protected secrets. Andre protected secrets. Reed protected secrets.””
I looked around the room.
“And somehow I’m the only person who was never allowed to know anything.””
Ward lowered his eyes.
“You deserved the chance to have a normal life.””
“Normal?””
I pointed at the necklace.
“This?””
Then at the flash drive.
“This?””
Then at the people standing around me.
“This is not normal.””
Ward took a slow breath.
“You’re right.””
The agreement surprised me.
“I made mistakes.””
Reed stepped closer.
“Mistakes?””
His voice was cold.
“You hid evidence.””
“Yes.””
“You let people believe Noah was dead.””
“Yes.””
“You watched Tiana spend seven years believing her father abandoned her.””
Ward closed his eyes.
“Yes.””
The honesty made the anger worse.
“Why?””
Ward looked at me.
“Because your father asked me to.””
Everything stopped.
I stared.
“What?””
“Thomas knew he was running out of time.””
“No.””
“He knew Derek Vale was getting closer.””
“No.””
“He knew if the truth came out too soon, everyone connected to him would die.””
I shook my head.
“You’re saying my father wanted this?””
“No.””
Ward’s voice sharpened.
“He wanted you alive.””
The room went silent.
Noah stepped forward.
“Tell her the rest.””
Ward looked at him.
“You were just a child.””
“And you let me believe my family forgot me.””
A flicker of guilt crossed Ward’s face.
“I saved you.””
“No.””
Noah’s voice trembled.
“You hid me.””
Ward didn’t answer.
Because it was true.
I looked between them.
“What happened that night?””
Ward finally sat down.
The fight seemed to leave him.
“The night your father died, he wasn’t meeting Derek Vale.””
“Then who?””
“My father.””
Reed froze.
“What?””
Ward looked at him.
“Your father.””
Marcus Reed went completely still.
“What are you saying?””
“Daniel Reed wasn’t just a witness.””
Ward paused.
“He was the person your father trusted most.””
Reed’s face changed.
“My father died two years before that.””
“No.””
Ward shook his head.
“That was the story.””
The room became silent.
Another lie.
Another missing piece.
“You’re telling me my father was alive?””
Reed whispered.
Ward looked at him.
“Yes.””
Reed took a step back.
“No.””
“I saw him.””
“Where?””
“That night.””
Reed’s face turned pale.
“My father was there?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because he and Thomas discovered the truth.””
“What truth?””
Ward looked at me.
“That Derek Vale wasn’t the one controlling everything.””
The room held its breath.
“Then who was?””
Ward looked toward the door.
For a second, I thought he was afraid.
Then he said:
“Someone above him.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Ward didn’t answer.
Instead, he looked at Noah.
“Noah knows.””
All eyes turned.
Noah looked uncomfortable.
“I was young.””
“You saw.””
Noah swallowed.
“I saw enough.””
“Tell me.””
He looked at me.
And I saw something familiar in his expression.
The same pain I had carried for years.
“The person who killed your father wasn’t a stranger.””
My heart pounded.
“Who?””
Noah looked at Ward.
Then Reed.
Then me.
“It was someone your father trusted.””
The room felt colder.
“Who?””
Noah’s voice dropped.
“Your uncle.””
I froze.
“My uncle?””
I didn’t have an uncle.
At least, I thought I didn’t.
“My father had no brother.””
Noah shook his head.
“Not by blood.””
The answer confused me.
“Then who?””
Before Noah could answer, Ward spoke.
“Thomas Brooks had a partner before he had a family.””
My eyes widened.
“The second file.””
Ward nodded.
“The person who worked beside him.””
I felt the pieces moving.
The hidden report.
The signature.
The missing evidence.
“My father’s partner.””
“Yes.””
“Who was he?””
Ward looked at me.
And then he said the name.
A name I recognized.
A name that made my entire body go cold.
“Elias Ward.””
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
No.
Impossible.
I looked at the captain standing in front of me.
The man who had spent years pretending to help.
The man whose name was now connected to everything.
“You.””
Ward didn’t deny it.
“I was your father’s partner.””
Reed raised his weapon.
“Then you killed him.””
“No.””
Ward’s voice was firm.
“I failed him.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“It’s the truth.””
I couldn’t move.
My entire life had been built around trusting him.
And now I didn’t know if anything was real.
Ward continued.
“Thomas discovered that his partner was being used.””
“By who?””
“Derek Vale.””
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“It does when you understand what Vale did.””
Ward looked at the flash drive.
“He didn’t recruit criminals.””
He paused.
“He recruited people who wanted power.””
A terrible thought formed.
“Inside the department.””
“Yes.””
My phone buzzed.
Nobody moved.
The screen lit up.
A message.
From the same unknown number.
*ASK WARD WHY HE WAS THE ONLY PERSON WHO SURVIVED.*
I looked at Ward.
His face changed.
Only slightly.
But I saw it.
Pain.
The message continued.
*ASK HIM WHAT HE DID WITH YOUR FATHER’S BODY.*
The room went silent.
My hands went cold.
“What does that mean?””
Ward stared at the phone.
No answer.
“Captain.””
He looked at me.
And for the first time…
He looked afraid of me.
“I didn’t kill your father.””
“Then what happened?””
His voice broke.
“I buried him.””
The words destroyed the room.
Reed stepped forward.
“You buried him?””
Ward nodded.
“Because there was no one else.””
“Why hide it?””
“Because the person who killed him was still watching.””
I felt tears burning my eyes.
“All these years…”
Ward looked at me.
“I wanted to tell you.””
“But you didn’t.””
“No.””
“Why?””
His answer was barely a whisper.
“Because your father left me one final instruction.””
I stared.
“What?””
Ward reached into his coat.
He pulled out a small envelope.
Older than the others.
More damaged.
He placed it on the table.
Your name was written on it.
Not Tiana.
Not Officer Brooks.
Just:
*My daughter.*
I couldn’t breathe.
Ward pushed it toward me.
“He told me to give this to you only when all three of you were together.””
I looked at Noah.
Then Reed.
Then the envelope.
“All three?””
Ward nodded.
“You.””
He pointed at Noah.
“His son.””
Then at Reed.
“His partner’s son.””
My hands shook as I opened it.
Inside was one final letter.
Only one sentence was written.
My father’s handwriting.
The handwriting I had missed for seven years.
*IF YOU ARE READING THIS, THEN THE PERSON WHO BETRAYED ME IS STILL ALIVE.*
I looked up.
Everyone was silent.
Then the apartment lights suddenly turned on.
And someone outside shouted.
“POLICE! Nobody move!””
The sound of boots filled the hallway.
Reed looked toward the door.
His face changed.
“That’s not backup.””
I stared.
“What?””
He moved toward the window.
“They’re not here to arrest anyone.””
A shadow appeared behind the glass.
A familiar silhouette.
Then Reed whispered the words that made my blood run cold.
“Tiana…”
“That’s Internal Affairs.””
I looked at him.
“Why would Internal Affairs be here?””
Reed turned back.
Because his answer meant the final secret had just found us.
“Because someone reported you.””
May you like
A pause.
“And the complaint was signed by your father’s name.””
