Chapter 9: The Man Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
I watched the video three times.
I still couldn’t understand what I was seeing.
My father.
Older.
Thinner.
But alive.
Sitting in a chair.
Looking directly into the camera.
“Marcus,” he said.
My hands covered my mouth.
I hadn’t heard his voice in years.
“I know you hate me.””
The video continued.
“But I need you to understand what happened.””
I couldn’t breathe.
Tasha stood beside me.
She was crying.
“You knew?”” I whispered.
She didn’t answer.
That was enough.
“You knew my father was alive?””
“Not at first.””
“When?””
She looked broken.
“Three years ago.””
I stood.
“You kept this from me?””
“Marcus, listen.””
“No.””
My voice shook.
“You let me mourn him.””
She cried.
“I thought he was dying.””
“What?””
She looked at the screen.
“Your father contacted me because he was sick.””
I stared.
“Why you?””
“Because he knew you wouldn’t listen.””
The words hurt.
Because they were true.
I watched the video again.
My father continued speaking.
“Victor betrayed me.””
My jaw tightened.
“Andre’s father.””
“Yes.””
“He stole from the company and blamed Daniel.””
I looked at my brother.
Daniel looked down.
My father continued.
“I wanted to fix it. But Victor threatened my family.””
The video froze.
I looked at Tasha.
“Why did you hide him?””
“Because he asked me to.””
“Why?””
“Because he wanted to expose Victor and Andre.””
My head spun.
“So Andre knew?””
“Yes.””
“Then why was he helping us?””
Tasha looked away.
“He wasn’t.””
The answer was quiet.
But clear.
“He was helping himself.””
The final part of the video played.
My father leaned toward the camera.
“If you are watching this, then Andre has started the final step.””
Final step.
Those words terrified me.
The video ended.
My phone rang.
Daniel answered.
His face changed.
“What?””
He looked at me.
Then at Tasha.
“Your father is missing.””
Everything stopped.
We found him two hours later.
An abandoned office building downtown.
The same place where the company records had been stored years ago.
My father was sitting alone.
Alive.
But weak.
When he saw me, tears filled his eyes.
“Marcus.””
I couldn’t move.
Five years of anger.
Five years of pain.
Five years of believing I was abandoned.
And now he was standing in front of me.
“You let me hate Daniel.””
His face fell.
“I know.””
“You let me think you were dead.””
“I was trying to protect you.””
“You destroyed us.””
He looked down.
“I know.””
The honesty shocked me.
My father had never admitted mistakes.
Not once.
“I thought I could control everything,” he whispered.
“And you couldn’t.””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“That was my greatest failure.””
Then the building lights turned off.
Everyone froze.
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Calm.
Someone clapped.
Once.
Twice.
Andre stepped into the room.
“I was wondering when we’d all finally meet.””
My father looked at him.
“You.””
Andre smiled.
“Yes.””
My fists tightened.
“You used us.””
Andre looked at me.
“No.””
He walked closer.
“I finished what my father started.””
My father stood.
“You’re just like him.””
Andre smiled.
“That’s the difference between us.””
He looked at all of us.
“I’m better.””
Then he placed a folder on the table.
Inside was one document.
A legal agreement.
My name.
Tasha’s name.
Daniel’s name.
My heart sank.
“What is this?””
May you like
Andre smiled.
“The reason you’ll lose everything tomorrow.””