Chapter 7: The Man Who Was Supposed To Be Dead
For twenty years, I had visited my father’s grave.
Every anniversary.
Every birthday.
Every moment when I needed advice from the only man who taught me how to build something from nothing.
I had stood in front of a stone with his name carved into it and believed I had lost him.
Now a message appeared on my screen telling me the impossible.
*Edmund Sterling was never dead.*
My first reaction wasn’t fear.
It was anger.
A deep, burning anger that made my hands shake.
Because death was supposed to be permanent.
Loss was supposed to hurt because there was no way back.
But my father had apparently found a way back.
Or maybe he had never left.
“Charles.””
Daniel’s voice pulled me away from the screen.
“Say something.””
I stared at the words.
“They’re lying.””
Margaret looked up from the chair.
Her face was pale.
“No.””
I turned toward her.
“What did you say?””
She looked terrified.
“Charles…”
“No.””
My voice sharpened.
“You don’t get to look surprised.””
She swallowed.
“Your father…”
“Is dead.””
The words came out harder than I expected.
“I watched him die.””
Margaret lowered her eyes.
“I know.””
“Then explain why his name is on my screen.””
She didn’t answer.
And that was the answer.
I stepped closer.
“You knew.””
“No.””
The response was immediate.
“I didn’t know he was alive.””
“But you knew something.””
Margaret’s silence confirmed it.
I looked away.
Another secret.
Another person who had decided I couldn’t handle the truth.
For my entire life, people had made choices for me.
My father.
My daughter.
Margaret.
Everyone.
Except me.
“Find out where that message came from,” I ordered.
The security team immediately started working.
Daniel stayed beside me.
“Charles, if your father is alive…”
I cut him off.
“Then everything changes.””
Because my father wasn’t just my father.
He was the founder of Sterling International.
The man whose decisions shaped my entire life.
If he had hidden himself…
If he had allowed everyone to believe he was dead…
Then what else had he hidden?
A security officer looked up.
“Sir.””
“What?””
“We traced the message.””
Everyone turned.
“Where?””
The officer hesitated.
“An old Sterling property.””
I frowned.
“Which one?””
He looked at the screen.
“The Blackwood Estate.””
The name meant nothing to me.
Until Margaret stood suddenly.
“No.””
Everyone looked at her.
“You know it.””
Her face lost color.
“I thought it was destroyed.””
“What is the Blackwood Estate?””
Margaret looked at me.
“It belonged to your father.””
I felt a chill.
“My father owned many properties.””
“Not like this one.””
She shook her head.
“Blackwood was where he kept his private files.””
Daniel stepped closer.
“Private files?””
Margaret nodded.
“Things he didn’t want anyone in the company to know about.””
I looked at the message again.
My father wanted me there.
Or someone wanted me to think he did.
Either way, I needed answers.
“We’re going.””
Daniel immediately objected.
“Charles, we don’t know who sent this.””
“I know.””
“That’s exactly why we shouldn’t go.””
I looked at him.
“Twenty years ago, my daughter disappeared because I waited for answers.””
The room went silent.
“I’m not waiting again.””
Nobody argued.
Thirty minutes later, we left the mansion.
The rain had stopped.
But the roads were still wet, reflecting the city lights like broken glass.
Margaret sat across from me in the car.
She hadn’t spoken since we left.
Finally, I said:
“You’re going to tell me everything.””
She looked out the window.
“I will.””
“Not when it’s convenient.””
She looked at me.
“Everything.””
For a moment, I saw the woman who had helped raise Amelia.
Not the person who kept secrets.
Not the person in the security footage.
Just Margaret.
Someone who had been afraid for too long.
“I should have told you,” she whispered.
“Yes.””
“I thought I was protecting her.””
“You were protecting her from what?””
Margaret looked at me.
“From the same thing that is happening now.””
“What?””
She lowered her voice.
“Someone is cleaning up the past.””
The words bothered me.
“Who?””
“I don’t know.””
“You keep saying that.””
“Because it’s true.””
She looked down.
“Charles, you think this is about Adrian.””
“Isn’t it?””
“No.””
Her answer surprised me.
“Adrian is dangerous.””
She paused.
“But he’s not the person you should fear most.””
I felt my stomach tighten.
“Then who?””
Margaret didn’t answer.
Because at that exact moment, my phone rang.
Unknown number.
Again.
I answered.
“Hello?””
For several seconds, there was silence.
Then a man spoke.
“Charles.””
I froze.
That voice.
Older.
Deeper.
But familiar.
Too familiar.
“Who is this?””
A quiet laugh.
“You really don’t recognize your own father?””
The world seemed to stop.
Daniel looked at me.
Margaret covered her mouth.
“Edmund.””
The voice continued.
“I knew you would find the message eventually.””
My grip tightened around the phone.
“If you’re alive, why did you let me believe you were dead?””
A pause.
Then:
“Because I was trying to keep you alive.””
I almost laughed.
“You abandoned your son for twenty years.””
“I saved him.””
“You don’t get to decide that.””
Silence.
Then my father said something that made my blood run cold.
“Charles, Amelia wasn’t the only one who was targeted.””
I stopped breathing.
“What?””
“You were.””
The car became silent.
“Why?””
“Because you inherited something.””
I looked at the ring.
The sapphire.
The secret.
“What?””
“My father left me a company.””
“No.””
His voice hardened.
“He left you a warning.””
The line crackled.
“Do you remember the year Amelia disappeared?””
I closed my eyes.
Of course I remembered.
Every second.
“Yes.””
“That was the year someone inside Sterling International tried to take control.””
“Adrian.””
“No.””
My father’s voice became serious.
“Adrian was a tool.””
My heart raced.
“Then who was using him?””
Silence.
Long enough to scare me.
Then:
“Your wife.””
I stopped.
“My wife died fifteen years ago.””
“I know.””
“Then what are you saying?””
My father spoke slowly.
“The person who started this was closer to you than anyone.””
I looked at Margaret.
She shook her head.
“No.””
I didn’t know who he meant.
I didn’t know if he was telling the truth.
But then he said:
“Charles, when Amelia was born, your wife discovered the truth about Sterling International.””
My chest tightened.
“What truth?””
“She discovered that the company was never just a company.””
The phone signal weakened.
“Dad.””
“Go to Blackwood.””
The line crackled.
“There you will find the last recording Amelia made before she disappeared.””
My heart stopped.
“Amelia recorded something?””
“Yes.””
“What does it say?””
My father’s voice became quieter.
“It says who betrayed her.””
The call disconnected.
Nobody spoke.
The car continued through the darkness.
Finally, Daniel whispered:
“Your father blamed your wife.””
I stared ahead.
My wife.
The mother of my daughter.
A woman I had loved.
A woman who died before Amelia disappeared.
A woman who could never defend herself.
I didn’t know what to believe anymore.
When we reached Blackwood Estate, the property looked abandoned.
A massive stone house hidden among trees.
No lights.
No guards.
No signs of life.
But someone had been there.
The front door was already open.
Margaret stopped at the entrance.
“Charles.””
“What?””
“You should know something.””
I looked at her.
“Before we go inside.””
She took a shaky breath.
“Your father didn’t fake his death alone.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“What does that mean?””
She looked into the darkness inside the house.
“Someone helped him.””
“Who?””
Before she could answer, a sound came from inside.
A recording.
An old voice playing from somewhere in the house.
My father’s voice.
“Charles…”
We stepped inside.
The lights suddenly turned on.
A projector activated.
A video appeared on the wall.
A younger version of Amelia stared back at me.
Alive.
Afraid.
Tears in her eyes.
My knees almost gave out.
Because after twenty years…
I was looking at my daughter again.
Then Amelia on the recording whispered:
“Dad, if you’re watching this…”
She looked directly into the camera.
“…it means I failed to stop the person who destroyed our family.””
The screen flickered.
Then she said the words that shattered everything I believed.
“The person who betrayed me was not Adrian.””
A pause.
A tear rolled down her face.
“It was someone you trusted more than anyone.””
The video froze.
And beneath Amelia’s image appeared a name.
*Charles Sterling.*
May you like
*Your wife was not the victim.*
*She was the beginning.*
