Chapter Seven: Where secrets ends
1016 Words
Eden's POV
The house felt colder than I remembered. Dad was there, but the distance between us felt wider than ever. Years of absence, missed calls, and half-truths hung like heavy fog in the air.
I took a deep breath, steadying myself before I knocked on his study door.
“Come in,” he called without looking up.
I stepped inside, the weight of everything I’d been holding back pressing down.
“Dad, we need to talk,” I said, voice firmer than I felt.
He finally looked at me, eyes tired but curious.
“I know you asked Roman to look after me,” I began, “but it’s more than that now. There’s danger—real danger—and I’m caught in the middle.”
He sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Eden, I wanted to protect you from this world. That’s why I stayed away.”
“But it’s not working,” I said, stepping closer. “Roman’s trying, but I need you too. I need the truth.”
His gaze softened. “There are things you don’t understand yet—things that could put you in even more danger.”
“I’m already in danger,” I whispered. “And hiding won’t save me.”
He stood, walking over to me with a heaviness I hadn’t seen before. “I made promises to keep you safe. But maybe I underestimated how strong you are.”
Tears burned my eyes. “I don’t want to be just protected. I want to fight—with you, with Roman. We need to be a team.”
He nodded slowly, the walls between us cracking just a little. “Alright. No more secrets. We face this together.”
For the first time in a long while, I felt like I wasn’t alone.
The fight was far from over—but now, I wasn’t just fighting for myself.
I was fighting for my family.
******
I had seen my father wear many masks over the years—distant, stern, tired—but never this one. This one carried authority that bent the room. Even Roman, ever-defiant, ever-composed, seemed to register the shift.
The name Dad had spoken hung in the air like ash: Lucien Kade.
I repeated it under my breath, watching the reaction flicker across Roman’s face—his eyes narrowing, his stance subtly shifting as though something had pierced through his armor.
“You know him,” I said.
Roman didn’t respond immediately. Instead, he crossed his arms and looked to my father. “How the hell is he still alive?”
My father walked past us both, over to the old liquor cabinet he never touched. He opened it slowly, retrieving a bottle of scotch, his fingers trembling just enough for me to notice.
“He disappeared ten years ago,” Dad said, voice quieter now. “We thought the fire killed him.”
Roman scoffed. “He faked it. Always five moves ahead.”
I was done being in the dark.
“Can one of you explain to me who the hell Lucien Kade is?” I asked, louder than I intended.
My father turned to me slowly, the glass in his hand still empty. “He used to be my partner.”
That stopped everything.
“Before you were born,” he went on, “I wasn’t just doing intelligence work. I was part of a shadow unit—off-the-books stuff. We were tasked with intercepting black-market arms deals, high-level security breaches, the kind of work that couldn’t be traced back to any government. Lucien was the best—until he turned.”
Roman added quietly, “He started selling secrets. Killing people. Making moves that weren’t sanctioned. He got greedy. And cruel.”
My father nodded. “We tried to stop him. Roman was—well, younger then. But you were there, weren’t you?”
Roman nodded once. “He tried to recruit me. Thought I’d follow him.”
“And you didn’t,” I said, putting the pieces together.
“He killed people I cared about,” Roman said. “Burned a safe house to the ground with a family inside. That was my line.”
My breath caught.
“And now he’s after us?”
“No,” my father said, stepping closer. “He’s after me. You’re just... in the way.”
I hated how casually he said that. Like my life was collateral damage.
“Then we stop him,” I said. “Together.”
Dad gave a small, humorless laugh. “He has armies, Eden. Resources we buried years ago. If he’s back, it means he wants something. Something big. And I doubt it’s just revenge.”
I looked to Roman. “Do you believe him?”
Roman didn’t hesitate. “Lucien doesn’t come back unless there’s something he can own, destroy, or steal. You don’t get second chances with men like that. Only war.”
I shivered, but stood straighter. “Then we plan for war.”
Roman gave me a look—part warning, part respect.
Dad finally poured himself the scotch. “I have files. People still loyal to me. I’ll reach out to them. But we’ll have to move fast. If Lucien knows you're involved,” he glanced at me, “he’ll use you.”
“I’m done being used,” I snapped.
There was a beat of silence. Then Roman stepped forward.
“What’s the plan?”
Dad exhaled, as if letting go of years of ghosts. “We bait him. Feed him the idea that I’m returning to active work. Leak false intel. Make him come to us.”
Roman raised a brow. “You’re using yourself as bait?”
My father gave a grim smile. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
The silence that followed was heavy, but not hopeless. For the first time, we were aligned. Eden, Roman, and the man I used to just call Dad. No more half-truths. No more shadows.
Just fire.
And the three of us, finally walking into it together.
- Writer
