CHAPTER 4 â THE FATHER WHO LOST FOUR YEARS
CHAPTER 4 â THE FATHER WHO LOST FOUR YEARS
Evan Mercer used to believe the worst pain in life was losing someone.
He was wrong.
The worst pain was discovering you had already lost somethingâŠ
and you never knew it existed.
Four years.
That number followed him everywhere.
Four years since Ellie was born.
Four years of missed moments.
Four years of a little girl growing up without him.
And every time he looked at her, he saw everything he had missed.
That morning, Evan sat on the floor of his living room while Ellie played with a small wooden puzzle.
He had bought it the night before.
A simple puzzle.
Something normal fathers did with their children.
But for him, it felt like trying to catch up on four years in one afternoon.
"Look, Daddy."
The word stopped him.
Daddy.
She said it naturally.
Like she had always known he belonged there.
Evan smiled.
"What did you make?"
"A house."
She held up the puzzle proudly.
"Mommy says houses need love."
Evan looked at her.
"She says that?"
Ellie nodded.
"She says people can have a big house and still be lonely."
The words were simple.
But they carried the sadness of a child who understood more than she should.
Leah watched from the doorway.
She had been released from the hospital that morning.
She looked tired.
But seeing Evan and Ellie together gave her something she had not felt in years.
Hope.
Evan noticed her.
The smile disappeared.
Not because he was angry.
Because he remembered.
All those years she carried their daughter alone.
All those nights she probably wondered if she had made the wrong choice.
Later, after Ellie fell asleep, Evan and Leah sat in the kitchen.
The same kitchen where everything changed.
"You should hate me."
Leah said it quietly.
Evan looked up.
"Why do you keep saying that?"
"Because I took something from you."
"No."
He shook his head.
"Someone took something from both of us."
Leah looked surprised.
For years, she had prepared herself for his anger.
Not his understanding.
"But I still should have tried harder."
Evan didn't answer.
Because part of him agreed.
She should have.
But another part understood fear.
"Why didn't you come to my office?"
Leah looked down.
"I did."
"What?"
"I went there."
"When?"
"Two months after Ellie was born."
Evan froze.
"What happened?"
Leah's hands tightened around her coffee cup.
"I saw your father."
The room became silent.
"Richard?"
She nodded.
"He told me you knew about Ellie."
Evan felt confused.
"He told me you didn't want anything to do with us."
His jaw tightened.
"That's another lie."
"I know."
"But back then..."
Leah swallowed.
"I believed him."
Evan closed his eyes.
Because suddenly he understood the pattern.
Every path leading to him had been blocked.
Every chance for the truth had been destroyed.
"Why didn't you tell me after?"
Leah looked at him.
"Because by then I was scared."
"Of me?"
"No."
A pause.
"Of losing Ellie."
She explained.
After years of raising Ellie alone, she feared that if she exposed everything, the Mercer family would take Ellie away.
They had money.
Power.
Lawyers.
And Leah had nothing.
"I thought they would win."
Evan looked at her.
"You thought I would let that happen?"
She looked away.
"I didn't know you anymore."
That sentence hurt.
Because it was true.
The next day, Evan went to his father's office.
Richard Mercer Corporation.
The building where his father had built an empire.
The building where every decision about Evan's life had been made.
Richard looked up when he entered.
"You finally know."
Evan stopped.
That response confirmed everything.
"You knew I would find out?"
"Eventually."
"Then why hide it?"
Richard leaned back.
"Because I was protecting you."
Evan laughed.
A bitter laugh.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
Richard stood.
"You were young."
"I was twenty-eight."
"You were emotional."
"I was in love."
Richard's expression hardened.
"Love makes people weak."
"No."
Evan stepped closer.
"People who fear love make people weak."
For the first time, Richard looked disappointed.
Not angry.
Disappointed.
"You sound like your mother."
Evan froze.
"My mother?"
Richard looked away.
"She always believed people mattered more than power."
"Where is she?"
Silence.
Evan noticed.
A hesitation.
"You know something."
Richard didn't answer.
"Where is my mother?"
Finally, Richard spoke.
"She left."
Evan stared.
"Everyone leaves."
The sentence sounded practiced.
Like Richard had repeated it for years.
That night, Evan searched through old family records.
He wasn't looking for business documents.
He was looking for the truth.
And he found something.
A private investigation report.
The subject:
LEAH CARTER
Date:
Four years ago.
The report contained photos.
Addresses.
Phone records.
And one final note:
"Subject is pregnant. Father confirmed as Evan Mercer."
Evan's hands shook.
Someone had hired a private investigator.
Someone knew everything.
Before he did.
At the bottom of the page was a signature.
The person who ordered the investigation.
Evan stared.
Because it was not Richard's name.
It was someone else.
Someone he trusted.
SABRINA CROSS.
Evan felt sick.
She wasn't just a liar.
She had been planning.
Then his phone rang.
It was Leah.
Her voice sounded frightened.
"Evan."
"What happened?"
"Ellie is missing."
Everything stopped.
"What?"
"I only looked away for one minute."
Evan was already running.
"Where are you?"
"The park."
His heart pounded.
"Leah, listen to me."
A pause.
"I will find her."
But when Evan reached the park, he knew something was wrong.
Because sitting on the bench where Ellie had been playing was a small pink backpack.
Inside was her favorite toy.
And a note.
Evan opened it.
Only one sentence.
"Now you know how it feels to lose someone you love."
His blood turned cold.
Because he recognized the handwriting.
Sabrina.
The woman who stole four years of his life.
Had now taken the one person he had just found.
May you like
His daughter.
END OF CHAPTER 4
