CHAPTER 7 — THE FATHER'S SECOND LIFE
CHAPTER 7 — THE FATHER'S SECOND LIFE
The door slammed somewhere deep inside the mansion.
Noah froze.
Elena's hand closed around his wrist.
"Don't move."
Daniel turned toward the hallway.
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then came another sound.
A slow footstep.
Then another.
Someone was walking through the house.
Noah looked at his father.
"Who is here?"
Daniel didn't answer.
That frightened Noah more than the footsteps.
"Dad?"
Daniel's jaw tightened.
"I thought the house was empty."
Elena whispered:
"It isn't."
The footsteps stopped.
Silence returned.
Then a man's voice came from the darkness.
"Daniel."
Daniel went pale.
Elena stepped backward.
Noah had never seen his father look like that.
Not during the police raid.
Not when Elena appeared.
Not even when the grandmother was arrested.
This was different.
This was fear without disguise.
The voice came again.
"Daniel, come downstairs."
Noah whispered:
"Who is that?"
Daniel looked at Elena.
She shook her head.
"Noah, take Lily and go to the safe room."
"Why?"
"Now."
"No."
Elena stared at him.
"Please."
"No more secrets."
The voice laughed softly from the hallway.
"He's right."
A man stepped into the light.
Noah stopped breathing.
He was tall.
Older than Daniel.
Gray hair.
A scar crossed his left cheek.
His eyes were the same dark brown as Noah's.
Daniel whispered one word.
"Thomas."
Elena closed her eyes.
"No."
The man smiled.
"Hello, Elena."
Noah stared at him.
"Who are you?"
Thomas looked at him.
Then his expression softened.
"You don't recognize me."
"No."
"Of course you don't."
He took another step.
"I left before you were born."
Daniel moved in front of Noah.
"Stay away from him."
Thomas laughed.
"Still pretending to be his protector?"
Daniel's fists clenched.
"You don't come into my house and threaten my family."
Thomas looked around.
"Your house?"
He smiled bitterly.
"You still haven't learned."
Noah stepped around his father.
"Who are you?"
Thomas looked directly at him.
"I'm your uncle."
Noah's heart stopped.
For years, Noah had believed his family was complicated.
He had been wrong.
It wasn't complicated.
It was buried.
Every answer uncovered another grave.
Thomas sat in the library while Noah, Lily, Elena, and Daniel remained standing.
The police had been called again.
But nobody had arrived yet.
Thomas looked at Noah.
"You've grown."
"You knew me?"
"I saw you."
"When?"
"Once."
"When I was a baby?"
Thomas nodded.
"You were six months old."
Noah stared at him.
"Why did you disappear?"
Thomas looked at Daniel.
"Ask your father."
Daniel said nothing.
Noah turned.
"Tell me."
Daniel sat down slowly.
"Thomas and I were partners."
"In what?"
"Real estate."
Thomas laughed.
"That's what he calls it."
Daniel looked at him.
"Don't."
Thomas leaned forward.
"We bought distressed properties."
"Legally?"
"Some."
Noah understood.
"And the others?"
Thomas looked at Elena.
"Your mother found out."
Elena nodded.
"Thomas was helping my investigation."
Daniel shook his head.
"No."
Thomas stared at him.
"You betrayed me."
"I saved you."
"You sold me."
"I saved your life."
Thomas's voice became colder.
"You told Father where I was."
Daniel didn't deny it.
Noah looked at him.
"You betrayed your brother too?"
Daniel lowered his head.
"I thought I had no choice."
Thomas laughed.
"You always say that."
Elena looked at Daniel.
"That's his favorite excuse."
Noah felt anger rising again.
"Why did you tell them where he was?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Because your grandfather threatened your mother."
Thomas interrupted.
"And Daniel chose the wrong person to protect."
Daniel snapped.
"I chose my family."
"You chose fear."
Silence.
Noah looked between them.
"What happened?"
Thomas answered.
"Your grandfather wanted the property network expanded outside Spain. I refused."
"Why?"
"Because people were being forced out of their homes."
Noah's expression hardened.
"You were stealing houses."
"Not me."
Thomas looked at Daniel.
"Your father was."
Daniel closed his eyes.
Thomas continued.
"We found elderly owners who couldn't pay their debts. Companies bought their mortgages. Then they bought the buildings for almost nothing."
Noah remembered the family fortune.
His stomach turned.
"And you were part of it."
"At first."
"What changed?"
"I met your mother."
Elena looked at him.
"You were the first person who made him question what he was doing."
Thomas smiled faintly.
"She wasn't afraid of him."
"Of your father?"
"Of anyone."
Noah looked at Elena.
"Mom, why didn't you tell us?"
"Because every time I tried, someone stopped me."
"Who?"
She looked at Daniel.
"Your father."
Daniel's eyes filled with regret.
The police finally arrived.
Thomas stood.
"I'll cooperate."
One officer approached.
"Mr. Vale, you're going to need to come with us."
Thomas nodded.
Before leaving, he looked at Noah.
"There's something you need to know."
"What?"
"Your father didn't disappear after the fire."
Noah frowned.
"Then where did he go?"
Thomas looked toward Daniel.
"Ask him about the woman named Clara."
Daniel's face went white.
Elena whispered:
"Who is Clara?"
Thomas smiled sadly.
"You'll find out."
Then he walked away with the police.
Noah turned to his father.
"Who is Clara?"
Daniel didn't answer.
"Who is Clara?"
"I don't want to talk about her."
"No."
Noah stepped closer.
"You don't get to decide that anymore."
Daniel looked at Elena.
She nodded.
"Tell him."
Daniel swallowed.
"Clara was my assistant."
"Was?"
"She worked with me before the fire."
"Did you have an affair?"
"No."
Elena stared at him.
Daniel looked away.
"Not exactly."
Noah felt sick.
"What does that mean?"
Daniel rubbed his face.
"Clara knew about the organization."
"How?"
"She helped move documents."
"Did she know Mom was alive?"
Daniel hesitated.
"Yes."
Noah's eyes narrowed.
"Then where is she?"
"I don't know."
Elena stood.
"You knew."
Daniel looked at her.
"I knew she was trying to expose them."
"Where did she go?"
"She disappeared."
Noah laughed bitterly.
"Everyone disappears in this family."
That night, Noah couldn't sleep.
He went downstairs.
The library lights were off.
He found Daniel sitting alone.
A bottle of whiskey sat unopened beside him.
Noah stopped in the doorway.
"You don't drink."
"I used to."
"Why did you stop?"
"Your mother."
Noah entered.
"She made you stop?"
"No."
"Then why?"
Daniel looked toward the fireplace.
"Because she asked me to."
Noah sat across from him.
"You loved her."
"Yes."
"Do you still?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Every day."
Noah didn't know why that answer hurt.
"Then why did you let her disappear?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"Because I was weak."
"That's it?"
"That's enough."
Noah waited.
Daniel finally spoke.
"The night of the fire, your mother called me."
"What did she say?"
"She said she had found evidence that would destroy the organization."
"What did you do?"
"I told her to leave the house."
"Did she?"
"She tried."
"Then what happened?"
"I arrived too late."
"Was the fire already burning?"
"Yes."
"Did you see her?"
"No."
"Then why did you believe she died?"
Daniel stared at him.
"Because Vanessa told me she had seen her trapped inside."
Noah's voice hardened.
"You believed Vanessa."
"I believed the evidence she gave me."
"What evidence?"
Daniel looked at the floor.
"Her wedding ring."
Noah froze.
"Mom's ring?"
Daniel nodded.
"Vanessa said she found it in the ashes."
Elena appeared behind Noah.
"I never took it off."
Daniel turned.
Elena looked at him.
"That ring wasn't mine."
Daniel stared.
"What?"
"The ring Vanessa showed you."
Elena lifted her left hand.
Her original wedding ring was still there.
Daniel stood.
His face collapsed.
"Then whose was it?"
Elena answered quietly.
"I don't know."
Noah looked at her.
"Then Vanessa lied."
"Yes."
"Why?"
Elena's expression darkened.
"To make you stop searching."
The next morning, Daniel received a message.
One sentence.
SHE KNOWS ABOUT CLARA.
No sender.
No number.
Daniel deleted it.
Noah saw him.
"What was that?"
"Nothing."
Noah stared.
"You're still lying."
Daniel looked at him.
"I don't want you involved."
"I'm already involved."
"Noah—"
"You've been telling yourself you're protecting me for years."
Daniel said nothing.
"But all you've done is make me blind."
Noah held out his hand.
"Give me the phone."
"No."
"Then I'll find the number myself."
Daniel looked at him.
"You really are your mother's son."
Noah answered:
"That's the first thing you've said that I'm proud of."
By noon, Daniel was gone.
His car remained in the driveway.
His phone was on the kitchen counter.
His coat was hanging beside the door.
Noah found the front door unlocked.
Elena came running downstairs.
"Where is your father?"
"I don't know."
She checked the garage.
Nothing.
Then she saw the kitchen counter.
Daniel's phone.
Elena picked it up.
There was one new message.
COME ALONE.
She looked at Noah.
"Who sent it?"
"I don't know."
"Did he say anything?"
"No."
Elena's face went pale.
"We have to find him."
They searched the mansion.
The office.
The garage.
The basement.
The tunnels.
Nothing.
Then Noah remembered something.
The blue box.
He ran upstairs.
He opened the drawer where his mother's letters had been stored.
Inside was a photograph.
On the back, written in Elena's handwriting:
If Daniel disappears, follow the second life.
Noah stared.
"The second life."
Elena came into the room.
"What?"
He showed her.
She looked terrified.
"Don't."
"What does it mean?"
"Nothing good."
"What is my father's second life?"
Elena sat on the edge of the bed.
For a long moment, she didn't speak.
Then she whispered:
"Your father had another identity."
Noah stared.
"What?"
"Before we married, Daniel lived under another name."
"Why?"
"Because he was working undercover."
"For whom?"
"The organization."
Noah's stomach dropped.
"You mean he was one of them."
"He was trying to destroy them from inside."
"Did it work?"
Elena shook her head.
"No."
"Why?"
"Because he fell in love with me."
Noah waited.
"And when he tried to leave, they threatened you."
"But I wasn't born."
"You weren't the only child they threatened."
Noah looked at her.
"What does that mean?"
Elena's eyes filled with tears.
"Daniel had a daughter before you."
Noah stopped breathing.
"A daughter?"
"Yes."
"Where is she?"
Elena looked away.
"She disappeared."
"When?"
"Eight years ago."
Noah's heart pounded.
"Her name?"
Elena whispered:
"Clara."
Noah stared at her.
The room seemed to tilt.
"Clara was his daughter?"
Elena nodded.
"And she is the reason your father never stopped running."
Noah suddenly remembered Thomas's words.
Ask him about the woman named Clara.
Not assistant.
Not colleague.
Daughter.
Daniel had never told them.
Another secret.
Another life.
Another child.
Noah looked at the photograph.
"Where is Clara now?"
Elena shook her head.
"I don't know."
"But you said she disappeared."
"Yes."
"Did my father know?"
"Yes."
"Then why didn't he tell me?"
"Because he was afraid you'd find her."
"Why?"
Elena looked directly into his eyes.
"Because Clara is the only person alive who can prove what your father did the night you were born."
Noah felt cold.
"What did he do?"
Before Elena could answer, the mansion lights went out.
Lily screamed from the hallway.
Then came a sound from downstairs.
Glass breaking.
Elena grabbed Noah.
"Stay behind me."
They moved toward the door.
A voice echoed through the darkness.
"Elena."
She froze.
Noah knew that voice.
It belonged to Daniel.
"Daniel?"
No answer.
Then the voice came again.
"Don't trust anyone."
Noah ran downstairs.
The front door was open.
Rain poured into the entrance hall.
Daniel's coat lay on the floor.
Beside it was a photograph.
Noah picked it up.
It showed Daniel holding a little girl.
On the back were four words.
SHE IS ALIVE, NOAH.
Noah looked at his mother.
"Who?"
Elena was crying.
"Your sister."
Noah stared at the photograph.
The girl couldn't have been more than five.
And behind her, standing in the shadows, was Vanessa.
Alive.
May you like
Watching.
And smiling.
