Chapter 7 - THE FATHER WHO WAS SUPPOSED TO BE DEAD

Ethan forgot how to breathe.

The man standing in front of him couldn’t be real.

Not after three years.

Not after the funeral.

Not after watching a coffin disappear into the ground.

His father was dead.

Everyone said so.

Everyone except the man standing in the basement.

Noah hid behind Ethan.

“Ethan…”

His little voice trembled.

“Who is that?”

Ethan couldn’t answer.

Because he didn’t know.

The man looked older.

Different.

There were scars across his face.

His hair was gray.

But those eyes…

Ethan knew those eyes.

The same eyes that used to look at him across the dinner table.

The same eyes that once carried him on his shoulders.

“Dad?”

The word came out before Ethan could stop it.

The man’s expression changed.

Pain.

Regret.

Guilt.

All at once.

“Ethan…”

His voice cracked.

“I’m sorry.”

Those two words destroyed something inside him.

Ethan stepped forward.

Then stopped.

“You’re sorry?”

His voice shook.

“You’re standing here after three years and all you can say is sorry?”

Laura moved between them.

“Ethan, please.”

He looked at his mother.

“No.”

The anger he had buried for years finally exploded.

“No, Mom.”

He pointed at the man.

“You both disappeared.”

His eyes filled with tears.

“I was fourteen when I started paying bills.”

His voice grew louder.

“I learned how to cook because nobody else was there.”

“I learned how to comfort Noah because nobody else did.”

He looked at his father.

“And you were alive?”

The silence was unbearable.

His father lowered his head.

“I had no choice.”

Ethan laughed bitterly.

“Everyone always says that.”

Richard watched from the doorway.

A smile slowly appeared on his face.

“Beautiful reunion, isn’t it?”

Everyone turned.

Richard stepped closer.

“But now the truth can finally come out.”

Laura’s face hardened.

“You don’t get to tell the truth.”

Richard ignored her.

“Your father wasn’t killed.”

Ethan looked at him.

“What?”

Richard smiled.

“He disappeared because he was running.”

His father looked furious.

“Don’t listen to him.”

Richard continued.

“Your father found out what Noah really was.”

Ethan immediately moved closer to Noah.

“Enough.”

Richard pointed at the boy.

“That child is the reason your entire family was destroyed.”

Noah started crying.

“I didn’t do anything.”

Ethan pulled him close.

“You hear me?”

He looked down at his brother.

“You did nothing wrong.”

Richard laughed.

“That’s exactly what Laura told you.”

The mysterious man stepped forward.

“Richard, this ends now.”

Richard looked at him.

“You still think you’re the hero?”

He smiled.

“You abandoned your family.”

The words hit harder than Ethan expected.

Because deep down…

he feared they were true.

Suddenly, police sirens echoed outside.

Richard’s expression changed.

For the first time…

he looked worried.

Claire whispered:

“Someone called them.”

Richard backed away.

“This isn’t over.”

He looked directly at Noah.

“Soon, everyone will know why you were never supposed to exist.”

Then he escaped through the back entrance.

Ethan stood frozen.

His family was alive.

But the truth was darker than he ever imagined.

Then his father turned to him.

And said:

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