CHAPTER 12: THE MOTHER WHO DISAPPEARED
CHAPTER 12: THE MOTHER WHO DISAPPEARED
For fifteen years, I believed my mother was gone.
I remembered the funeral.
I remembered the black suit I wore.
I remembered standing beside my father’s grave while adults whispered around me.
I remembered people telling me that everything would be okay.
But nobody ever explained anything.
They only told me to accept it.
To move on.
To be strong.
And I did.
I built a company.
I created a life.
I convinced myself that losing both parents was simply the price of becoming who I was.
But now Vanessa was standing in front of me, telling me the impossible.
My mother had survived.
And everyone had lied.
I stared at her.
“Say that again.”
Vanessa looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Your mother survived the crash.”
My mind rejected the words.
“No.”
“Yes.”
“That’s impossible.”
“I know how it sounds.”
“You don’t understand.”
My voice became louder.
“I watched her funeral.”
Vanessa lowered her head.
“I know.”
“Then explain it.”
She was silent.
That silence hurt more than the truth.
Because it meant there was more.
More secrets.
More years of lies.
“Vanessa.”
She looked up.
“Tell me everything.”
She took a deep breath.
“My father discovered your mother was alive.”
I froze.
“When?”
“Shortly after the accident.”
“Why didn’t he tell me?”
“Because he believed she was in danger.”
I laughed bitterly.
“In danger?”
“My father thought someone was trying to erase your entire family.”
The room felt colder.
“So he let me believe she was dead?”
Vanessa looked away.
“Yes.”
Anger rose inside me.
“Why?”
“Because he thought keeping you unaware would protect you.”
I walked away.
Protect me.
Everyone always used that phrase.
Doctors.
Employees.
People who claimed to love me.
Everyone thought they knew what was best for me.
Everyone made decisions about my life without asking.
I turned back.
“Where is she?”
Vanessa hesitated.
That hesitation told me she knew.
“You know.”
She looked down.
“Yes.”
“Where?”
“I can’t tell you.”
My anger exploded.
“You can’t tell me?”
“Alexander—”
“No.”
I stepped closer.
“You spent months lying to me.”
“You entered my life under a false identity.”
“You knew someone was hurting me.”
“And now you’re telling me my mother is alive, but you still won’t tell me where she is?”
Vanessa’s eyes filled.
“I’m trying to keep you alive.”
The words stopped me.
“What?”
She whispered:
“If Victor knows you found her, she won’t survive.”
The room became silent.
I looked at Ethan.
He looked equally shocked.
“How does Victor know about her?”
Vanessa answered quietly.
“Because he was the reason she disappeared.”
I felt a chill.
“What happened after the crash?”
Vanessa sat down.
For the first time, she looked exhausted.
“Your father was investigating Victor’s medical projects.”
“Your mother found out.”
“What did she do?”
“She tried to expose him.”
I listened carefully.
“The night of the crash, your parents were supposed to meet someone who could help them.”
“Who?”
Vanessa looked at me.
“I don’t know.”
“Then what happened?”
“Their car was forced off the road.”
My hands tightened.
“But your mother survived.”
“Yes.”
“What happened to her?”
Vanessa swallowed.
“She was taken.”
“By who?”
She didn’t answer.
But I already knew.
Victor.
The same man connected to everything.
My illness.
My father.
The hidden files.
The lies.
A knock suddenly interrupted us.
Everyone turned.
The door opened.
A security officer stood there.
“Mr. Mercer.”
“What happened?”
His face was pale.
“There was someone trying to access the private wing.”
My expression changed.
“What private wing?”
“The old east section of the estate.”
I frowned.
That part of the house had been closed for years.
Nobody used it.
“Who tried to enter?”
The officer looked uncomfortable.
“We don’t know.”
“Show me.”
We followed him through the mansion.
The east hallway was dark.
Dust covered the furniture.
I rarely came here.
My father had designed this section of the house before his death.
The officer pointed toward a door.
“The lock was damaged.”
I stepped closer.
My heart started beating faster.
Because on the wooden door…
Was a symbol.
A symbol I had seen before.
On the documents.
On the research files.
On the hidden records.
A black circle with a small line through the center.
Victor’s organization.
I opened the door.
Inside was an old office.
My father’s office.
A place nobody had entered in fifteen years.
The room smelled like old paper and memories.
I walked inside slowly.
On the desk was a photograph.
I picked it up.
My hands started shaking.
It was a picture of my parents.
But they were not alone.
A third person stood beside them.
A young man.
Someone I recognized immediately.
I looked at Ethan.
“Do you know who this is?”
He stared at the picture.
Then his face changed.
“No.”
“What?”
He stepped closer.
“That’s impossible.”
“Who is he?”
Ethan looked at me.
His voice was barely a whisper.
“That’s Victor Blackwood.”
I looked at the photograph again.
The picture was old.
Very old.
Victor was standing beside my parents.
Smiling.
Like a trusted friend.
Not an enemy.
Not a killer.
A friend.
I turned to Vanessa.
“Why was Victor in my father’s office?”
She looked devastated.
“Because before he became your father’s enemy…”
She paused.
“He was his closest friend.”
The truth became more complicated.
More dangerous.
Because Victor wasn’t a stranger who attacked my family.
He was someone my family welcomed.
Someone they trusted.
Someone who knew every weakness.
Then something caught my attention.
A small envelope hidden beneath the photograph.
My father’s handwriting was on the front.
My name.
Alexander.
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was one sentence.
Only one.
But it changed everything.
“If you are reading this, then I failed to protect you.”
I looked at Vanessa.
Then Ethan.
Then the old office around me.
Because after fifteen years…
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My father had finally left me a message.
And I was about to discover the truth he died trying to reveal.
