Chapter 12 - THE TRUTH MY MOTHER BURIED
Michael stood at the bottom of the stairs.
My mother began crying.
My father raised his weapon.
Michael didn't move.
“Richard,” he said.
My father stared at him.
“You’re alive.”
Michael smiled bitterly.
“Disappointed?”
My father lowered the weapon slightly.
“You were reported dead.”
“You wrote the report.”
“I believed you were dead.”
“You never looked for me.”
“I was ordered not to.”
Michael laughed.
“Still hiding behind orders.”
I stepped between them.
“Stop.”
Both men looked at me.
I stared at Michael.
“Are you my father?”
He looked at me.
“No.”
The answer hurt more than I expected.
“Then why are you here?”
“Because I promised your mother I would protect you.”
My mother began sobbing.
“You promised me you would never come back.”
“I changed my mind.”
My father looked at him.
“Who is Emily's father?”
Michael turned toward my mother.
She shook her head.
“Don't.”
Michael's voice became cold.
“You've lied long enough.”
My mother looked at me.
“I was young.”
I said nothing.
“I was afraid.”
“Of whom?”
She looked at Richard.
“Everyone.”
Michael continued.
“Your mother was working with us.”
I stared at her.
“What?”
“She was an intelligence analyst.”
My mother closed her eyes.
My father nodded.
“She was part of the operation.”
I laughed.
“My mother was a spy?”
Michael looked at me.
“She was.”
My mother whispered:
“I was trying to get out.”
“Then why did you stay?”
“Because I was pregnant.”
My heart stopped.
“With whom?”
She looked at me.
“Thomas Vale.”
My father said nothing.
Michael continued.
“Thomas was the man who betrayed the operation.”
I looked at my mother.
“Was he my father?”
She nodded.
“Yes.”
I felt the room tilt.
My father looked away.
I understood.
The man who had raised me was not my biological father.
The man my father had ordered killed was not my father.
My biological father was a man everyone had believed was a traitor.
And he had been dead for decades.
I looked at Michael.
“Why did you say he was never my father?”
“Because Thomas was not your biological father.”
My mother froze.
I stared at him.
“What?”
Michael reached into his coat.
He pulled out an old envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
A woman.
A man.
And a newborn baby.
The baby was me.
On the back was written:
Biological Father: Unknown.
My mother started crying.
I looked at her.
“Unknown?”
She whispered:
“I didn't know.”
Michael looked at my father.
“Richard knows.”
I turned.
My father’s face was broken.
“Tell me.”
He closed his eyes.
“Thomas was not your father.”
“Then who?”
My father whispered:
“Me.”
The room went silent.
I stared at him.
“No.”
My mother covered her face.
My father continued:
“Your mother and I had an affair.”
I stepped backward.
“No.”
“It happened before your mother married Michael.”
My mother sobbed.
“You were conceived before the operation.”
I looked at the man who had raised me.
My father.
My biological father.
My entire life had been a lie.
“You knew?”
“I found out years later.”
“Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because I was afraid.”
I laughed.
“Everyone is always afraid.”
My father looked at me.
“I thought I was protecting you.”
“You stole the truth from me.”
“Yes.”
I stared at him.
Then I looked at my mother.
“And you?”
She cried.
“I was ashamed.”
I felt anger.
“You were ashamed of me?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Of what I had done.”
I turned away.
Michael watched silently.
I asked:
“Why did you come back now?”
He looked toward Lily.
“Because the people who destroyed our lives are still alive.”
My blood turned cold.
“Who?”
Michael said:
“The same people who funded Evan.”
My father suddenly stiffened.
Michael continued:
“The old network never disappeared.”
I stared at him.
“They are still operating.”
“And they want Lily.”
“Why?”
Michael looked at my daughter.
“Because she is the heir.”
I shook my head.
“She doesn't inherit anything.”
My father looked at me.
“That is not true.”
“What?”
“Your trust was never just money.”
He reached into his coat.
He pulled out a document.
The original inheritance agreement.
I read it.
My blood ran cold.
The trust contained more than money.
It contained evidence.
Evidence that could destroy the network.
And the trust transferred to Lily when she was born.
Michael looked at me.
“That is why they want your daughter.”
Then the basement lights went out.
May you like
And a voice came from upstairs.
“Give us the child.”
