EPISODE 6: THE MAN WHO KNOWS MY SECRETS
1068 Words
“Dad…?”
The word barely left my lips.
It felt unreal… like I was speaking to a ghost.
He stood at the door, one hand still resting on the handle, his eyes locked on mine like he was searching for something—something I didn’t understand.
For a moment, everything stood still.
The air.
My breath.
Even my thoughts.
I had imagined this moment so many times… dreamed about it… cried over it. But now that he was here, standing right in front of me, it didn’t feel the way I thought it would.
There was no warmth.
No relief.
Only tension.
And something else… something heavier.
“Are you just going to stand there?” he finally said, his voice low and controlled.
That tone alone sent a chill down my spine.
I swallowed hard, my hands slightly trembling at my sides. “I thought you were gone…”
His jaw tightened.
“Gone?” he repeated. “So you decided that for yourself?”
“I didn’t decide anything,” I said quickly. “You disappeared. No calls, no messages—nothing. What was I supposed to think?”
He stepped into the room slowly, closing the door behind him with a soft click that somehow sounded louder than anything else.
“You were supposed to trust me,” he said.
A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it. “Trust you? You left me with questions and silence!”
Before he could respond, his eyes shifted past me.
And everything changed.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop instantly.
“You.”
That single word carried weight.
I turned slightly, already knowing who he was looking at.
Daniel.
He stood a few steps behind me, calm… almost too calm.
“Sir,” Daniel said, his voice steady.
“Don’t call me that,” my dad snapped immediately. “You lost that right a long time ago.”
My heart skipped.
I looked between them, confusion crashing over me like a wave.
“Wait… what is going on?” I asked, my voice rising. “How do you two know each other?”
Neither of them answered.
That silence… it felt like betrayal.
“Answer me!” I shouted.
Daniel exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated?” I echoed. “No. No, don’t do that. Don’t give me that answer.”
I turned to my dad. “You. Tell me.”
He didn’t hesitate this time.
“He’s been around longer than you think.”
My chest tightened.
“What does that mean?”
“It means,” my dad continued, his eyes never leaving Daniel, “he didn’t just meet you by chance.”
My heart began to pound harder.
I slowly turned to Daniel, my voice dropping to a whisper.
“Is that true?”
He didn’t answer immediately.
That hesitation was enough to break something inside me.
“Daniel…” my voice cracked. “Tell me.”
Finally, he spoke.
“Yes.
The word hit me like a slap.
I took a step back, shaking my head slowly. “No… no, you’re lying.”
“I’m not—”
“So everything was planned?” I cut in. “Meeting me, talking to me, getting close to me… all of it?”
“It wasn’t like that,” he said quickly. “At first, yes but then things changed.”
“Changed?” I laughed weakly, tears filling my eyes. “You expect me to believe that?”
“I was protecting you!”
“STOP saying that!” I yelled. “You don’t get to lie to me and then call it protection!”
Silence fell again.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
Painful.
I turned to my dad, desperation in my voice. “Please… just tell me the truth. All of it.”
He looked at me, and for the first time since he walked in, his expression softened slightly.
But it didn’t last.
“They’re coming,” he said quietly.
My stomach dropped.
“Who is ‘they’?” I asked.
“The people behind everything you don’t remember.
A cold shiver ran through my body.
“I don’t understand…
“You weren’t supposed to,” he replied.
I shook my head, overwhelmed. “This doesn’t make any sense!”
“It will,” Daniel said softly. “Just give it time.”
“I don’t have time!” I snapped.
As if on cue
A sudden noise came from outside.
Footsteps.
Multiple.
Heavy.
All three of us froze.
My dad’s expression changed instantly.
“They found you,” he said.
Fear wrapped around my chest, tightening with every breath.
Daniel stepped closer to me, his voice low and urgent. “Stay behind me.”
“No,” my dad said firmly. “She stays behind me.”
They both looked at each other.
Tension. History. Something deeper.
“I’m not arguing with you right now,” Daniel said. “We need to move.”
“I know exactly what we need to do,” my dad replied.
“And what is that?” Daniel challenged.
“To end this.”
My heart raced faster.
“End what?” I asked, my voice shaking.
Neither of them answered.
Instead, another sound came—
Closer this time.
A knock.
Slow.
Deliberate.
My breath caught.
Then a voice followed.
Cold. Unfamiliar.
“Open the door.”
My entire body went stiff.
Daniel’s hand brushed against mine for a second, like he was grounding me.
“Don’t say anything,” he whispered.
The knock came again.
Louder.
“OPEN THE DOOR.”
I felt my pulse in my ears.
My dad took a step forward, his posture shifting completely.
Protective.
Dangerous.
“Stay back,” he said without looking at me.
I wanted to argue.
To ask questions.
To understand what was happening.
But the fear… it held me in place.
Daniel moved beside him.
“For once,” he muttered, “we’re on the same side.”
My dad didn’t respond… but he didn’t disagree either.
Another loud bang shook the door.
It wouldn’t hold much longer.
Tears slid silently down my face as I realized one thing
Whatever secrets they were hiding…
Whatever truth I didn’t know…
It had finally caught up to me.
And this time
There was no running from it.
- Writer
