Chapter 3 — My Father Was Alive And Lauren Knew Where He Had Been
Chapter 3 — My Father Was Alive And Lauren Knew Where He Had Been
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
I stared at Ryan.
Then at the phone in his hand.
Then at Lauren.
“My father?”
Ryan nodded.
“I know how it sounds.”
“No.”
My voice came out quieter than I expected.
“It doesn’t sound impossible.”
Ryan frowned.
“It doesn’t?”
“I’ve spent nine years believing he was dead. If you’re telling me he’s alive, then suddenly every other lie makes sense.”
Lauren lowered her head.
I looked at her.
“You knew.”
She didn’t answer.
“That means you knew.”
“I suspected.”
“That’s not the same thing.”
“No,” she whispered. “It isn’t.”
I stepped toward her.
“When did you find out?”
“Six months ago.”
I felt my jaw tighten.
“Six months.”
She nodded.
“And you said nothing.”
“I was afraid.”
“Of my father?”
“Of what he wanted.”
Ryan interrupted.
“Dan, we need to get out of here.”
I looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because this garage isn’t safe.”
“You said someone has been watching me.”
“Yes.”
“And now you think they’ll attack us?”
Ryan looked toward the entrance.
“They already know we’re here.”
I followed his gaze.
A black sedan had just entered the garage.
It stopped two rows away.
Its headlights remained on.
Nobody got out.
Lauren grabbed my arm.
“Daniel.”
I pulled away.
“Don’t.”
Her eyes filled with tears.
“I know you’re angry.”
“Angry isn’t the word.”
“I know.”
“You spent almost three years pretending our marriage was normal.”
“I know.”
“You were assigned to investigate me.”
“Yes.”
“And then you found out my father was alive.”
“Yes.”
“And you still stayed.”
Lauren looked directly at me.
“That part was real.”
I almost believed her.
That was the worst part.
I had spent years learning every little thing about her.
The way she took her tea.
The songs she played while cooking.
The way she fell asleep with one hand beneath her pillow.
It was impossible to accept that someone could fake all of that.
But apparently, people could hide entire lives.
Ryan grabbed my shoulder.
“Dan.”
I looked at him.
“Move.”
The sedan suddenly reversed.
Ryan pushed me toward the stairwell.
We ran.
A loud crack echoed through the garage.
I didn’t know whether it was a gunshot or a car backfiring.
I didn’t stop to find out.
We reached the stairwell and slammed the door behind us.
Ryan locked it.
Lauren was breathing heavily.
“What now?” she asked.
Ryan looked at me.
“Your house.”
“No.”
“Dan—”
“If they’re watching me, going home is exactly what they expect.”
Ryan nodded.
“Then we go somewhere they don’t know.”
I thought for a moment.
“One place.”
“Where?”
“My father’s old office.”
Ryan’s face changed.
“That’s been abandoned for years.”
“Exactly.”
We drove separately.
I didn’t tell either of them where the office was until we were already on the road.
Twenty minutes later, we parked behind an old brick building near the edge of downtown.
The sign above the entrance had almost completely faded.
CARTER CONSTRUCTION
My father had owned the company before his death.
I hadn’t been inside since I was seventeen.
Ryan found the old key hidden beneath a loose brick.
The lock opened.
Inside, everything smelled like dust and old paper.
I walked slowly through the hallway.
My father’s office was at the end.
The desk was still there.
So was the wooden cabinet where he kept his contracts.
I opened the top drawer.
Nothing.
Second drawer.
Nothing.
Third.
A small metal key.
I picked it up.
There was a number engraved on it.
814.
Ryan stared at it.
“Room 814?”
I looked at him.
“What?”
“That’s what the old documents mentioned.”
“What documents?”
Ryan shook his head.
“I never found them.”
Lauren suddenly spoke.
“I know where it is.”
I turned toward her.
“Where?”
“The Franklin Hotel.”
I stared at her.
“How do you know?”
“Because that’s where your father met Richard.”
“When?”
“The night before he disappeared.”
I felt a chill.
“You’ve been there?”
“No.”
“Then how do you know?”
She hesitated.
“Mason told me.”
I turned toward her.
“Mason.”
She nodded.
“He was the one who gave me the first file.”
“Who is Mason?”
“My former contact.”
“Your handler?”
“Yes.”
“Is he still alive?”
“I don’t know.”
Ryan looked at me.
“We need to leave.”
I held up the key.
“No.”
“Daniel.”
“We’re going to Room 814.”
The Franklin Hotel was nearly empty.
It was after midnight when we entered through the side entrance.
The receptionist barely looked up.
Ryan approached the desk.
“Room 814.”
The receptionist checked the computer.
“It’s not occupied.”
“Can we access it?”
She shook her head.
“It’s been sealed for years.”
I placed the metal key on the counter.
The receptionist stared at it.
Her expression changed.
“Where did you get that?”
“My father.”
She looked at me.
“Your father?”
“Daniel Carter.”
She went completely still.
Then she reached beneath the desk and pulled out an old envelope.
“This was left for you.”
I stared at it.
“My name is on it.”
She nodded.
“He told us if you ever came here, we were supposed to give you this.”
My hands trembled as I opened it.
Inside was a handwritten letter.
I recognized the handwriting immediately.
Daniel,
If you’re reading this, then someone has finally told you I didn’t die.
I stopped.
Lauren covered her mouth.
I continued.
I know you’re angry. You have every right to be.
But I need you to understand one thing. I never abandoned you.
My eyes blurred.
Richard wasn’t working alone.
He was only the person you could see.
I turned the page.
The person behind everything is someone you trust.
I froze.
Ryan stepped closer.
“What does it say?”
I didn’t answer.
I kept reading.
Someone who has been beside you for years.
Then:
Someone who knew exactly when Lauren entered your life.
My eyes slowly lifted.
Ryan was standing in front of me.
Lauren was beside him.
Neither moved.
Then the letter continued.
Don’t trust Ryan.
The room went silent.
I looked at my brother.
He stared at me.
“Dan…”
I took one step backward.
Ryan raised both hands.
“Listen to me.”
I couldn’t.
Not after everything.
Not after the affair.
Not after the surveillance.
Not after the secrets.
I held up the letter.
“My father said not to trust you.”
Ryan’s face went pale.
Then he whispered something that made Lauren gasp.
“He’s lying to you.”
I stared at him.
“How do you know?”
“Because I was there when he wrote it.”
My blood ran cold.
“You were there?”
Ryan nodded.
“Your father didn’t disappear nine years ago.”
“Then when did he disappear?”
Ryan looked at Lauren.
“Six months ago.”
Lauren suddenly began crying.
I looked between them.
“Why?”
Ryan swallowed.
“Because six months ago, your father came back.”
I couldn’t speak.
“And he didn’t come back alone.”
“Who was with him?”
Ryan looked at me.
“Richard.”
Before I could react, the elevator doors opened.
A man stepped out.
Older.
Gray hair.
Wearing the same dark coat I remembered from my childhood.
He looked directly at me.
My heart stopped.
“Daniel.”
I knew that voice.
The same voice from the recording.
The same voice I had spent nine years believing belonged to a dead man.
My father walked toward me.
But he wasn’t alone.
Richard Carter stepped out behind him.
And the first thing my uncle said was:
“I’m sorry, Daniel.”
Then he looked at Lauren.
“You were never supposed to marry him.”