Chapter 10 - THE TRUTH UNDER THE SURFACE

The first rule I learned in my old life was simple.

Nobody hides something unless they’re afraid someone will find it.

And Rick Barnes was hiding a lot.

By sunrise, Lisa had built a complete timeline.

Twenty years of secrets.

Twenty years of missing files.

Twenty years of people looking the other way.

I stared at the screen.

“This isn’t just corruption.”

Lisa nodded.

“No.”

She turned the laptop toward me.

“This is organized.”

Ethan crossed his arms.

“Barnes is a middleman.”

I looked at him.

“For who?”

Nobody answered.

Because we all knew.

Blackridge.

The name had followed me for years.

A company that claimed to provide security.

But behind closed doors, they were something else.

They weren’t soldiers.

They were businessmen who treated war like a business opportunity.

And people like me were the ones sent to clean up their mess.

I walked toward the window.

“So they used Barnes to send me a message.”

Ethan nodded.

“Looks like it.”

“They could have killed Tyler.”

The room became silent.

“But they didn’t.”

Lisa looked at me.

“Why?”

I turned around.

“Because they wanted me awake.”

Nobody spoke.

Because they understood.

This wasn’t an attack.

It was a warning.

They wanted me angry.

They wanted me reckless.

They wanted Reaper to come back.

The problem was...

They didn’t understand one thing.

The old me was dangerous.

But the man I became?

A father protecting his child?

That was worse.

My phone rang.

It was Tyler’s hospital room.

I answered immediately.

“Hey, buddy.”

His voice was quiet.

“Dad?”

“Yeah.”

“Can you come here?”

Something in his voice bothered me.

“I’m on my way.”

When I arrived, Tyler was staring out the window.

He didn’t turn around.

“What happened?”

He stayed silent.

Then he said:

“I heard Mom talking.”

I stopped.

“About what?”

“About you.”

I walked closer.

“What did she say?”

Tyler looked at me.

“She said she’s scared.”

I sat beside him.

“She’s scared because she loves us.”

Tyler looked down.

“No.”

He shook his head.

“She’s scared because she thinks you’re going to become someone else.”

I didn’t answer.

Because my son was right.

Tyler studied my face.

“Dad.”

“What?”

“Who were you before?”

The question hit me harder than I expected.

I looked away.

“Tyler…”

“I’m not stupid.”

His voice became stronger.

“I know you.”

“You know the person I am now.”

He shook his head.

“I know you better than that.”

For seventeen years, I protected him from my past.

Now my past was protecting itself by coming after him.

I took a deep breath.

“There was a time when I did dangerous things.”

Tyler waited.

“I worked with people who solved problems nobody else could solve.”

“Like the military?”

I looked at him.

“Something like that.”

He studied me.

“And now?”

I looked at his damaged legs.

“Now I’m your dad.”

Tyler swallowed.

“Then promise me something.”

“What?”

“Don’t let them take that away.”

I placed my hand over his.

“I promise.”

But promises are easy to make.

Keeping them is harder.

That evening, Ethan called.

“We found Kane.”

I stood.

“Where?”

“Denver.”

“Alive?”

“Yes.”

I grabbed my jacket.

“Then we’re going.”

Ethan became quiet.

“Dennis.”

“What?”

“You need to understand something.”

“Say it.”

“He knows you’re coming.”

I smiled.

“Good.”

The old me would have prepared for a mission.

The new me had a reason.

And that made me more dangerous.

Because this wasn’t about revenge.

It was about my son.

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