Chapter 6: The Truth My Father Buried
For several seconds, nobody moved.
The hospital hallway continued around us.
A nurse pushed a cart past.
A phone rang somewhere behind the reception desk.
Someone laughed quietly near the vending machines.
The world kept going.
But mine had stopped.
*Don’t let Cross find the recording.*
My father’s words repeated in my head.
Not Julian’s.
Not Victor’s.
My father’s.
The man who taught me how to ride a bicycle.
The man who stayed awake all night when I had pneumonia at age twelve.
The man who cried when I graduated high school.
The man who apologized every time he needed help standing after his accident.
That man was afraid of Julian Cross.
I looked at Julian.
His face was completely still.
Too still.
“Did you know?”” I asked.
The question came out quieter than I expected.
Julian looked at me.
“Know what?””
“That my father was afraid of you.””
A muscle moved in his jaw.
“No.””
I studied him.
“You’re lying.””
“No.””
The answer was immediate.
But not defensive.
Just exhausted.
“I knew your father blamed me for something.””
“What?””
Julian looked toward the hospital room.
“I don’t know.””
I laughed softly.
“Again?””
He didn’t respond.
“You keep saying you don’t know.””
“Because there are pieces missing.””
“Pieces?””
“Yes.””
He stepped closer.
“Your mother gave me a letter. Your father disappeared from my life. Someone sent you that photo. Victor appears after twenty years with documents.””
His voice lowered.
“Someone has been moving pieces around for a long time.””
I looked at him.
“And you think you’re not part of the problem?””
The question landed.
Julian didn’t defend himself.
That bothered me.
Because I expected him to.
Rich people always had explanations.
They had lawyers who could explain anything.
But Julian just stood there.
“I might be.””
The honesty caught me off guard.
“What?””
He looked at the floor.
“I might be part of the reason your family suffered.””
The hallway became colder.
Before I could answer, the doctor cleared his throat.
“Ms. Mercer?””
I looked back.
“Your father is waiting.””
I nodded.
Then I looked at Julian.
“You stay here.””
He didn’t argue.
“Okay.””
That surprised me.
I walked into the room alone.
My father looked smaller.
That was the first thing I noticed.
Not weaker.
Smaller.
The hospital bed swallowed him.
The man who once carried me on his shoulders now struggled to sit up without help.
His hair had turned mostly gray.
His hands shook slightly.
But his eyes were still my father’s.
The moment he saw me, his face changed.
Fear.
Not relief.
Fear.
“Abby.””
I closed the door behind me.
“Dad.””
He looked past me.
“Is he here?””
I didn’t answer.
That was enough.
His face tightened.
“You brought him here?””
My chest hurt.
“I didn’t bring anyone.””
“You need to leave.””
“What?””
“Abby, listen to me.””
His voice became urgent.
“You need to leave now.””
I stepped closer.
“Dad.””
“No.””
He grabbed my hand.
His grip was weaker than I remembered.
But desperate.
“Promise me.””
“Promise you what?””
“Promise me you won’t ask questions.””
I stared at him.
Almost unable to believe what I was hearing.
“That’s what Mom did.””
His expression changed.
“What?””
“She kept secrets to protect me.””
My voice shook.
“And now you’re doing the same thing.””
“Abby.””
“No.””
I pulled my hand away.
“I’m done being protected.””
His eyes filled with sadness.
“You don’t understand.””
“You’re right.””
I stepped closer.
“I don’t.””
A tear formed in the corner of his eye.
“Good.””
I froze.
“What?””
“Good.””
His voice cracked.
“Because if you understood, you would know why we stayed quiet.””
My heart pounded.
“Who is we?””
He looked away.
“My mother?””
“My father?””
“Both?””
Silence.
Then:
“Your mother.””
The answer hurt.
Because somehow, I had hoped he would say no.
I had hoped my mother had been dragged into something against her will.
But my father saying her name made it real.
“She knew.””
“Yes.””
“What did she know?””
He closed his eyes.
“Your mother was the smartest person I ever met.””
“That’s not an answer.””
“I know.””
His eyes opened.
“She saw things people ignored.””
“Like what?””
He looked at the door.
Then back at me.
“Like the fact that powerful people don’t always need to threaten you.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
“It means they can ruin your life without ever raising their voice.””
I thought of Julian.
I hated that I immediately thought of him.
“Are you talking about Cross?””
My father flinched.
That was all I needed.
“Dad.””
He looked away.
“Yes.””
The word was barely audible.
“Why?””
He swallowed.
“Because I worked for them.””
I sat down.
My knees suddenly felt weak.
“I know.””
His eyes lifted.
“You know?””
“Julian told me.””
My father’s face changed.
“You met him?””
“Yes.””
“Abby—”
“No.””
I shook my head.
“You don’t get to panic and tell me to stop.””
He became quiet.
I continued.
“I know about the security work.””
His expression collapsed slightly.
“I know about Project Aurora.””
The color drained from his face.
“Who told you that?””
“Victor Hale.””
My father stopped breathing for a second.
“Victor is alive?””
“Yes.””
He looked terrified.
Not surprised.
Terrified.
That scared me more.
“You know him too.””
My father looked down.
“Yes.””
“How?””
A long silence.
Then he whispered:
“Because Victor was the reason I left.””
I stared.
“What?””
My father rubbed his face.
“I thought I could fix it.””
“Fix what?””
“Everything.””
His voice broke.
“When I started working for Cross International, I thought I was protecting people.””
He looked at me.
“I believed in what they were building.””
“What changed?””
He looked toward the window.
“People.””
The answer was simple.
But painful.
“Your grandfather had created a company that looked perfect from the outside.””
He paused.
“But inside, there were things happening.””
“Illegal things?””
“Yes.””
My stomach tightened.
“And you found out?””
“I found evidence.””
“The recording.””
His eyes snapped back to mine.
“You know about that?””
I nodded.
“Julian said Mom left evidence.””
My father closed his eyes.
“She shouldn’t have.””
“Why?””
“Because it put her in danger.””
My voice became softer.
“Dad…”
He looked at me.
“She was already dying.””
The sentence broke something inside me.
My mother.
My father.
All these years.
Everyone carrying pieces of the same pain.
“I don’t understand.””
He looked at me.
“You were six years old when it started.””
“What was?””
“The night Julian almost died.””
I listened.
“Your mother was there. I was there. Julian was there.””
His voice lowered.
“And we discovered something.””
“What?””
“That the accident wasn’t an accident.””
My heart stopped.
“What?””
“My father’s car was supposed to crash.””
I stared.
“Whose car?””
“Julian’s.””
The room felt unreal.
“Someone tried to kill him?””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
My father looked away.
“I don’t know.””
I almost laughed.
“Everyone says that.””
“I’m not lying.””
“I know.””
The words surprised both of us.
Because I did believe him.
Maybe because he looked like a man who had spent twenty years being afraid.
“What happened after?””
My father swallowed.
“Your mother found something.””
“The evidence.””
“Yes.””
“What was on it?””
“I don’t know.””
I stared.
“What do you mean?””
“She never showed me.””
“But she trusted you.””
“She loved me.””
His voice broke.
“That’s why she hid it.””
I frowned.
“What?””
“She knew I would try to fix everything.””
A sad smile appeared.
“That was always my problem.””
He looked at his hands.
“I thought if I worked hard enough, protected enough people, sacrificed enough…”
He shook his head.
“I thought I could control the damage.””
“And Mom?””
“She knew better.””
I remembered her words.
Being desperate doesn’t give you permission to hurt someone else.
“What did she do?””
“She made a deal.””
“With who?””
My father looked toward the door.
“Julian.””
My stomach tightened.
“She trusted him?””
“Yes.””
“Then why were you afraid of him?””
The question hung there.
My father looked at me for a long time.
Then he said:
“Because I didn’t know if Julian was the person who saved us…”
A pause.
“Or the person who destroyed us.””
I felt a chill.
“Dad.””
He reached for my hand.
“Abby, listen to me.””
His voice became urgent.
“There is something you need to understand.””
“What?””
“Your mother didn’t leave the recording with Julian.””
I froze.
“What?””
“She lied.””
My breathing stopped.
“Why?””
“Because she knew someone was watching him.””
“Then where is it?””
My father looked at me.
And I saw something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Pure fear.
“She hid it somewhere only you could find.””
I shook my head.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“My mother never told me.””
“She did.””
“What?””
My father’s eyes filled with tears.
“She just didn’t tell you with words.””
I stared.
“What does that mean?””
Before he could answer, the lights in the hospital hallway flickered.
Once.
Twice.
Then went dark.
My father immediately grabbed my arm.
“Get down.””
The command was so sudden that I obeyed before thinking.
The room fell into darkness.
Outside, alarms began sounding.
People shouted.
A few seconds later, emergency lights turned on.
Red.
Dim.
Unnatural.
My father was breathing heavily.
“What’s happening?””
He didn’t answer.
He was staring at the door.
Then came a sound.
A soft click.
The door handle moved.
Someone was trying to enter.
My father’s face went pale.
“No.””
I whispered:
“Dad?””
He looked at me.
And said the words I never expected to hear.
“Abby…”
His voice trembled.
“Your mother didn’t hide the recording from them.””
The door handle moved again.
“She hid it from everyone.””
May you like
The door began opening.
Including us.
