CHAPTER 13: THE LETTER MY FATHER LEFT BEHIND
CHAPTER 13: THE LETTER MY FATHER LEFT BEHIND
I held the letter in my hands for several seconds without opening it.
It was strange.
After fifteen years, I had touched something that belonged to my father.
Something he wrote.
Something meant for me.
Part of me wanted to read every word immediately.
Another part of me was afraid.
Because every truth I had uncovered recently had destroyed something I believed.
Vanessa was not who I thought.
My illness was not natural.
My father’s death was not an accident.
And now, this letter had the potential to change everything again.
Ethan stood beside me.
Vanessa remained near the doorway.
Nobody spoke.
Finally, I unfolded the paper.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
My father always wrote slowly.
Carefully.
Every letter looked deliberate.
The first line made my chest tighten.
Alexander,
If you are reading this, then something happened to me.
I stopped.
My breathing became heavier.
I continued.
I wish I could tell you this in person. I wish I could sit with you, explain everything, and protect you from the truth.
But if you have found this letter, it means I failed to keep danger away from you.
I swallowed.
My father had always been the strongest person I knew.
Seeing him admit fear felt impossible.
There are people who will try to convince you that I was wrong. That I was paranoid. That I destroyed my own life because I trusted the wrong people.
Do not believe them.
My eyes moved faster.
The greatest mistake of my life was believing power always revealed itself through enemies.
Sometimes the most dangerous person is the one standing closest to you.
I looked at Vanessa.
She looked away.
The words felt personal.
Like my father had somehow predicted my entire life.
Victor Blackwood was my friend.
I trusted him more than anyone outside my family.
That trust almost destroyed everything.
I continued reading.
Victor discovered something about our company that could have changed the world. A medical technology project. A breakthrough that could help millions.
But he became obsessed with control.
My heart raced.
Medical technology.
The same connection.
The same path.
He stopped seeing people as human beings. He started seeing them as experiments.
A chill moved through me.
Your mother discovered what he was doing. She tried to expose him.
I tried to protect her.
I tried to protect you.
I failed.
I looked up.
Vanessa was crying silently.
I lowered the letter.
“You knew.”
She looked at me.
“Yes.”
“You knew my father wrote this?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know so much?”
She hesitated.
“Because my father had copies of some of his research.”
I stared.
“Your father kept evidence?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
She looked down.
“Because even after everything, Daniel knew Victor was dangerous.”
That was the first time I realized something.
Daniel Whitmore might have been my enemy.
But he may have also been fighting the same person.
I returned to the letter.
Alexander, if you ever discover what happened, do not seek revenge.
I paused.
That sounded exactly like my father.
Revenge destroys the person holding it.
Seek the truth.
The truth is the only thing Victor cannot control.
I turned the page.
The final section was shorter.
And somehow, more frightening.
There is someone inside our circle helping him.
My heart stopped.
Inside our circle.
Someone you trust.
Someone who knows our family.
Someone who has access to everything.
The letter ended with one final sentence.
Do not trust the person who claims to know the whole story.
I lowered the paper.
Silence filled the room.
Everyone was thinking the same thing.
Someone close.
Someone trusted.
Someone connected.
But who?
Ethan broke the silence.
“Alexander…”
I looked at him.
“There’s something else.”
“What?”
He looked uncomfortable.
“I found another file.”
“Where?”
“Inside the old office.”
He opened a drawer beneath the desk.
Inside was a hidden compartment.
He removed a small black folder.
My father’s name was written on it.
But underneath it was another name.
A name that made Vanessa’s face turn pale.
Margaret Hale.
I looked at her.
“Who is Margaret Hale?”
Vanessa didn’t answer.
“Vanessa.”
She looked terrified.
Finally, she whispered:
“My grandmother.”
I frowned.
“Your grandmother?”
“Yes.”
“Why would my father have a file about your grandmother?”
Vanessa slowly stepped closer.
“I don’t know.”
I opened the folder.
Inside were old photographs.
Documents.
Letters.
And one picture that made my entire body freeze.
It showed my father.
My mother.
Victor Blackwood.
And Margaret Hale.
Together.
Decades earlier.
They were standing outside a research facility.
A place I had never heard of.
At the bottom of the photograph was a date.
Thirty years ago.
Ethan looked at it.
“What is this place?”
I turned the photograph over.
There was writing on the back.
My father’s handwriting.
The beginning of everything.
I felt a cold sensation.
Everything started here.
Not with Vanessa.
Not with my illness.
Not even with Victor.
This was older.
Much older.
I looked at Vanessa.
“You knew your family was connected to my family.”
She shook her head.
“I knew our fathers were connected.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“I swear, Alexander, I didn’t know about this.”
I wanted to believe her.
But trust was fragile.
And Vanessa had broken it too many times.
Before anyone could speak, the lights suddenly went out.
The entire mansion fell into darkness.
A second later, an alarm sounded.
Ethan immediately reached for his phone.
“Security system failure.”
I looked toward the hallway.
“What’s happening?”
He checked the screen.
Then his face changed.
“Someone is inside the house.”
My heart raced.
“How many?”
He looked at the security feed.
“One.”
“Who?”
Ethan stared at the screen.
Then slowly looked at me.
“Alexander…”
His voice became quiet.
“You’re not going to believe this.”
I stepped closer.
“Show me.”
He turned the monitor toward me.
The camera showed a figure walking through the mansion.
An older woman.
Gray hair.
A familiar face.
A face I had seen only in photographs.
My hands went numb.
Because the person standing in my house…
May you like
Was someone everyone told me had been dead for fifteen years.
My mother.
