CHAPTER 9 The Voice From the Grave
CHAPTER 9 The Voice From the Grave
The message remained on every phone screen.
Nobody moved.
Nobody spoke.
The words were simple.
But they carried a threat heavier than any weapon.
STOP SEARCHING, OR THE NEXT FUNERAL WILL BE REAL.
Theodore stared at the screen.
His hands slowly tightened into fists.
For days, he had been searching for answers.
Now he finally had them.
And somehow, the truth felt even more terrifying than the lies.
His father was alive.
Or someone wanted them to believe he was.
Either way, someone was watching.
Someone close.
Someone powerful.
“Theodore.”
Sebastian’s voice pulled him back.
He looked up.
Sebastian was staring at the phone.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
Theodore noticed immediately.
“You know that number.”
Sebastian said nothing.
“You know who sent it.”
Sebastian looked away.
That was all Theodore needed.
“You know.”
Sebastian finally spoke.
“It belonged to your father.”
The room became silent again.
Rosalie looked at him.
“You’re sure?”
Sebastian nodded.
“I memorized it years ago.”
Theodore stepped closer.
“Why?”
Sebastian looked at him.
“Because I spent years trying to find him.”
Everyone moved into the library.
The place where generations of Vale secrets had been stored.
The place where every important decision had been made.
Tonight, it became the place where the family finally faced the truth.
Daniel placed the old recording device on the table.
“We need to understand something.”
Everyone looked at him.
“Your father was not just hiding from enemies.”
Daniel paused.
“He was hiding from the people closest to him.”
Theodore looked toward Sebastian.
“Meaning?”
Daniel opened an old folder.
“Meaning someone inside the Vale family knew exactly what he discovered.”
Rosalie frowned.
“Who?”
Daniel looked at Eleanor.
She immediately became defensive.
“Do not look at me.”
Nobody responded.
Because everyone had already considered it.
Eleanor crossed her arms.
“I protected this family.”
Sebastian stared at her.
“You protected yourself.”
Her expression changed.
“You have no idea what I sacrificed.”
Theodore watched them carefully.
Everyone had a story.
Everyone claimed they were protecting someone.
But somehow, every decision they made had caused more damage.
Daniel placed another photograph on the table.
“This was taken one week before your father disappeared.”
Theodore picked it up.
The picture showed his father outside a private building.
Beside him stood another person.
A person Theodore recognized.
His stomach dropped.
“No.”
Rosalie looked at him.
“Who is it?”
Theodore slowly placed the photograph down.
“It’s Dr. Adrian Mercer.”
Everyone froze.
The doctor who had declared Rosalie dead.
The doctor who had examined her before the funeral.
The doctor who claimed he made a mistake.
Sebastian immediately reached for his phone.
“He lied.”
Daniel shook his head.
“Not only that.”
He pointed at the photograph.
“He was working with your father.”
At the hospital, Dr. Mercer sat alone in his office.
The lights were off.
The room smelled like old paper and medicine.
His hands shook as he opened a drawer.
Inside was a file.
A file he had hidden for years.
The name on the folder:
VALE PROJECT.
He opened it.
Inside were medical reports.
Blood tests.
DNA results.
And one photograph.
Theodore Vale.
Mercer stared at the picture.
“I’m sorry.”
A voice came from behind him.
“You should be.”
Mercer froze.
Slowly, he turned.
A figure stood in the doorway.
Hidden in the darkness.
Mercer’s face went pale.
“You’re supposed to be dead.”
The person stepped forward.
“You all wanted me to be.”
Mercer backed away.
“I had no choice.”
The figure smiled.
“Everyone says that.”
Back at the mansion, Theodore refused to sit.
He was done waiting.
“Where is he?”
Sebastian looked at him.
“Who?”
“My father.”
Sebastian hesitated.
“We don’t know.”
“No.”
Theodore shook his head.
“You do.”
Sebastian remained quiet.
Theodore slammed his hand onto the table.
“Stop protecting everyone.”
Sebastian looked at him.
The anger in Theodore’s voice was not childish anymore.
It was the anger of someone who had spent his entire life being denied the truth.
“Where is my father?”
Sebastian slowly answered.
“There is one place he would go.”
“Where?”
“The old Vale property.”
Rosalie looked confused.
“The abandoned estate?”
Sebastian nodded.
“The place where everything started.”
An hour later, Theodore, Sebastian, Rosalie, and Daniel arrived at the abandoned Vale property.
The mansion had been empty for years.
Broken windows.
Overgrown gardens.
A place forgotten by the world.
But Theodore noticed something immediately.
There were fresh footprints near the entrance.
Someone had been there recently.
Sebastian opened the door.
Inside, everything was covered in dust.
Except one thing.
A table in the center of the room.
On it was a fresh candle.
And beside the candle was a letter.
Theodore picked it up.
His name was written on the front.
THEODORE.
His hands shook as he opened it.
Inside was only one sentence.
I knew you would come here eventually.
Theodore looked at Sebastian.
Then continued reading.
If you want the truth about your birth, come alone.
A second line appeared beneath it.
Your father.
Rosalie immediately grabbed the letter.
“No.”
Theodore looked at her.
“What?”
She pointed to the handwriting.
Her face was filled with fear.
“Theo…”
“What?”
She whispered:
“That is not Father’s handwriting.”
Everyone froze.
Theodore looked at the letter again.
Then the lights inside the abandoned mansion suddenly turned on.
A voice echoed from upstairs.
“You finally found the place where your family buried the truth.”
Everyone looked toward the staircase.
A man slowly appeared.
Older.
Tired.
But unmistakably familiar.
Sebastian stepped backward.
Impossible.
Rosalie covered her mouth.
Theodore could not breathe.
Because the man standing above them…
Was the father they thought had died eight years ago.
But he was not looking at them with love.
He was looking at them with fear.
And the first words he said changed everything.
May you like
“Run.”
TO BE CONTINUED…
