Chapter 8 - THE BOY WHO WAS NEVER SUPPOSED TO KNOW

The police arrived minutes later.

Richard was gone.

Again.

But this time, Ethan didn’t care.

Because for the first time in years…

his family was sitting in the same room.

His mother.

His father.

His brother.

A family he thought was impossible.

But happiness didn’t come.

Not yet.

There were too many unanswered questions.

Ethan sat across from his father.

His arms crossed.

“Start talking.”

His father looked at him.

“I owe you the truth.”

“You owe me more than that.”

The words were sharp.

His father nodded.

“I know.”

Laura sat beside him.

“We never wanted you to suffer.”

Ethan looked at her.

“But I did.”

That hurt her.

“I know.”

“No, Mom.”

His voice softened.

“You don’t know.”

A tear rolled down his cheek.

“You missed my first day of high school.”

“You missed Noah learning how to ride a bike.”

“You missed everything.”

Laura covered her face.

Because there was no excuse for lost time.

Only pain.

His father took a deep breath.

“Three years ago, I discovered Richard was stealing from my company.”

Ethan listened.

“He wasn’t just stealing money.”

“He was selling information.”

“What information?”

His father looked at Noah.

“Medical research.”

The room became quiet.

“Noah was born with a rare genetic marker.”

Ethan frowned.

“A genetic marker?”

His father nodded.

“Something scientists believed could help cure certain diseases.”

Claire looked shocked.

“And Richard wanted to sell it.”

“Yes.”

Ethan looked at Noah.

“So he was trying to hurt him?”

His father shook his head.

“Not at first.”

He looked ashamed.

“He wanted to control him.”

Ethan’s hands tightened.

“Noah is not an experiment.”

“I know.”

His father’s voice broke.

“He’s my son.”

The room went silent.

For years, Ethan had carried the responsibility alone.

Now he finally saw something in his father’s eyes.

Regret.

Real regret.

“But why fake your death?”

Ethan asked.

His father looked away.

“Because Richard had people everywhere.”

“He threatened your mother.”

“He threatened you.”

“And you believed leaving us was safer?”

His father nodded slowly.

“I thought I could end it before they reached you.”

Ethan looked at him.

“But they reached us anyway.”

No one could argue.

The truth was sitting right there.

Richard had taken years from them.

Then Noah suddenly spoke.

“Can I ask something?”

Everyone looked at him.

The little boy wiped his tears.

“Why did everyone want me gone?”

Nobody answered immediately.

Because no answer could make that fair.

Finally, Ethan knelt beside him.

“They were wrong.”

Noah looked at him.

“But why me?”

Ethan hugged him.

“Because some people are afraid of things they don’t understand.”

That night, after everyone finally slept, Ethan walked through the old farmhouse.

He found his mother’s office.

Inside were hundreds of files.

Photos.

Documents.

Notes.

Then he saw one folder.

His name was written on it.

ETHAN MILLER - CONFIDENTIAL

His heart started racing.

Why would his mother have a secret file about him?

He opened it.

The first page contained one sentence.

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