Chapter 16: The Father I Buried
941 Words
My hands trembled.
The photograph blurred as tears filled my eyes.
No.
No.
No.
It wasn't possible.
The man standing beside Olivia looked exactly like my father.
The same eyes.
The same smile.
The same face I'd spent eight years mourning.
The same man I'd buried.
My heart pounded painfully against my ribs.
"Aria."
Damien's voice sounded distant.
Muffled.
Like he was underwater.
I couldn't stop staring at the screen.
My father.
Alive.
The possibility shattered everything I thought I knew.
Every memory.
Every loss.
Every tear.
A lie.
Or at least part of one.
The SUV fell silent.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
Because everyone understood what this meant.
Nothing about Project Eclipse was what it seemed.
Nothing.
---
Ten minutes later, the convoy stopped.
The abandoned docks stretched into darkness.
Rain poured from the sky.
Cold.
Relentless.
The perfect setting for nightmares.
And apparently family reunions.
My stomach twisted.
Damien grabbed my wrist before I could leave the vehicle.
"Wait."
I looked at him.
His eyes were filled with concern.
Real concern.
"Something's wrong."
I almost laughed.
Something?
Everything was wrong.
"My father is alive."
The words still felt unreal.
Impossible.
Dangerous.
Damien's jaw tightened.
"We don't know that."
I immediately shook my head.
"We do."
The photograph wasn't fake.
I knew it wasn't.
A daughter recognized her father.
Even after years.
Even after grief.
Even after death.
The problem wasn't whether Richard Bennett was alive.
The problem was why he'd stayed away.
For eight years.
A painful silence settled between us.
Then Damien reached for my hand.
The simple gesture calmed me more than it should have.
"I'm going with you."
I nodded.
For once, I didn't argue.
Because for the first time since this nightmare began...
I was scared.
Truly scared.
---
The warehouse stood at the far end of the pier.
Dark and silent.
Like it had been waiting for us.
The rain soaked through my clothes as we approached.
Security teams spread out around the building.
Weapons ready.
Eyes alert.
Yet the place felt strangely empty.
Too empty.
Damien noticed it too.
I could tell by the way his gaze swept across every shadow.
Every entrance.
Every possible threat.
The large warehouse door stood partially open.
Waiting.
Inviting.
A trap.
Definitely a trap.
Yet we walked inside anyway.
The massive space echoed with silence.
Rows of shipping containers filled the room.
Dim lights flickered overhead.
And at the center of it all stood a single chair.
Olivia.
Relief crashed through me.
She was alive.
Tired.
Frightened.
But alive.
"Olivia!"
Damien moved instantly.
The protective brother replacing the billionaire.
He reached her within seconds.
Untying the ropes around her wrists.
Olivia immediately threw her arms around him.
Tears streamed down her face.
For the first time, Damien's mask cracked completely.
His relief was visible.
Raw.
Powerful.
Human.
My chest tightened.
Because despite everything else, family mattered to him.
A lot.
Then a slow clap echoed through the warehouse.
Every head turned.
A figure stepped from the shadows.
My breath caught.
The world stopped.
My father.
Richard Bennett.
Alive.
Standing ten feet away.
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
I stared.
Unable to process what I was seeing.
His hair was slightly grayer.
His face older.
But it was him.
Without question.
Without doubt.
My father.
The man I'd buried.
The man I'd mourned.
The man who had abandoned me.
Tears filled my eyes.
"Dad?"
My voice broke.
The word echoed through the warehouse.
His expression crumpled instantly.
Pain.
Regret.
Love.
All visible at once.
"Aria."
The sound of my name on his lips shattered something inside me.
I should have run to him.
I should have hugged him.
I should have cried.
Instead, anger exploded through me.
"How dare you."
The words echoed loudly.
Everyone froze.
Including him.
"Eight years."
My voice shook.
"Eight years."
Tears streamed down my face.
"You let me believe you were dead."
His eyes closed briefly.
As if the accusation physically hurt.
Good.
It should.
"You left me."
"Aria—"
"You left me."
The years of grief poured out.
Uncontrolled.
Painful.
"I buried you."
His face paled.
"I know."
"No."
I laughed bitterly.
"You don't."
Because if he understood...
He never would have done this.
The silence became unbearable.
Then my father took a step forward.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like he feared I might disappear.
"I did it to protect you."
The explanation felt insultingly small.
Protect you.
As if those two words could justify eight years of lies.
Eight years of absence.
Eight years of heartbreak.
"Protect me from what?"
His expression darkened.
Immediately.
The atmosphere changed.
Danger rolled through the warehouse.
Then another voice answered.
Not my father's.
Aiden's.
"From me."
Every muscle in my body locked.
Aiden Cross stepped out from the shadows behind Richard Bennett.
Smiling.
Calm.
Completely unafraid.
The sight sent chills through me.
Beside me, Damien became deadly still.
Aiden noticed.
And smiled wider.
"Hello, old friend."
Damien's voice was ice.
"We were never friends."
Aiden laughed.
The sound echoed through the warehouse.
Then his gaze landed on me.
And everything inside me went cold.
Because for the first time, I realized something terrifying.
Aiden wasn't looking at me like a hostage.
Or a journalist.
Or even a threat.
He was looking at me like I was the key to something.
Something he'd spent years searching for.
Something valuable.
Something important.
His smile widened.
Then he delivered the words that changed everything.
"Tell her what Eclipse really made."
Silence.
My father looked horrified.
Damien looked furious.
And suddenly, I knew.
The worst secret of Project Eclipse still hadn't been revealed.
What really is this secret???
- Writer
