THE MAN SHE CALLED FATHER
1316 Words
Chapter 7:
Amelia couldn't breathe.
The man standing in front of her looked like a stranger.
Yet somehow, something inside her recognized him.
His eyes.
The shape of his jaw.
The deep line above his eyebrow.
There was something familiar about him that terrified her.
"You're lying," Amelia whispered.
The man smiled sadly.
"I knew you would say that."
"My father is dead."
"Who told you that?"
"My mother."
He looked toward Mrs. Carter.
"Your mother was trying to protect you."
Amelia turned toward her.
"Mum?"
Her mother was crying.
"I wanted to tell you."
"When?"
"One day."
"One day?"
Amelia's voice cracked.
"You let me grow up believing my father abandoned us!"
Her mother covered her face.
"I'm sorry."
The man took a step forward.
"I never abandoned you."
Adrian immediately moved between them.
"Don't come any closer."
The man's eyes shifted to Adrian.
"You always were like your father."
Adrian's face hardened.
"You knew my father."
"I knew him very well."
"What happened between you?"
The man laughed without humor.
"That's a story your family buried."
Amelia looked between them.
"What is your name?"
The man hesitated.
"Daniel Carter."
Her father's name.
The name she had only heard in old documents.
Amelia stared at him.
"Why did you leave?"
Daniel's expression changed.
"I didn't leave."
"Then why weren't you there?"
"Because I was forced to disappear."
"By whom?"
Daniel looked at Adrian.
"The Blackwoods."
Adrian's eyes narrowed.
"Careful."
Daniel smiled.
"Still protecting the family name."
"I don't protect liars."
"Then ask your father what happened twenty years ago."
Adrian's jaw tightened.
"My father is dead."
"Then ask his records."
Silence filled the warehouse.
Amelia looked at Adrian.
"Do you know what he's talking about?"
Adrian didn't answer.
That frightened her more than anything.
"Adrian?"
"I don't know everything."
Daniel laughed.
"Of course you don't."
Amelia stepped around Adrian.
"Tell me the truth."
Daniel looked at her.
"I was working with Adrian's father."
"You said he betrayed you."
"No."
Daniel's voice became bitter.
"They accused me of stealing from them."
"Did you?"
"No."
"Then what happened?"
"I discovered something."
"What?"
Daniel glanced toward Amelia.
"Something about you."
Her heart began pounding.
"Me?"
"Before you were born, your mother and I discovered that someone inside Blackwood Enterprises was secretly moving money."
Adrian's expression changed.
"Who?"
Daniel looked at him.
"Your uncle."
The warehouse went silent.
Adrian's eyes hardened.
"My uncle?"
"Yes."
"You're lying."
"I have proof."
Daniel reached into his jacket.
Adrian immediately raised a hand.
His security team surrounded Daniel.
Daniel stopped.
"Relax."
He removed a small envelope.
"This contains copies of the original financial records."
Adrian took it.
He opened the envelope.
His expression became increasingly serious as he read.
Amelia watched him.
"What does it say?"
Adrian didn't answer.
Daniel did.
"It proves I was framed."
Amelia looked at her father.
"Why didn't you come back?"
"Because they threatened your life."
She froze.
"They told me that if I returned, they would kill you."
"Who?"
"Your father's enemies."
"Who are they?"
Daniel looked toward the dark entrance of the warehouse.
"They are still watching."
A sudden gunshot shattered the silence.
Everyone dropped.
Amelia screamed.
Adrian grabbed her and pulled her behind a concrete pillar.
"Stay down!"
Another shot rang out.
Security guards moved into position.
Daniel disappeared behind another pillar.
"Where is he?" Adrian shouted.
"He moved!"
Amelia's hands trembled.
"Adrian!"
"I'm here."
He pulled her closer.
"Don't move."
"But my father—"
"We'll find him."
Another gunshot.
Then silence.
Adrian looked toward the warehouse entrance.
"Nobody leaves."
His security team moved forward.
A few minutes later, one of the guards returned.
"Sir."
"What happened?"
"The shooter escaped."
"And Daniel?"
The guard hesitated.
"We can't find him."
Amelia's heart dropped.
"My father?"
"He disappeared."
She stared at the empty warehouse.
He had been there.
Her father.
The man she had spent her entire life believing was gone.
And now he had disappeared again.
---
Back at Blackwood Mansion, Amelia couldn't sleep.
She sat on the edge of her bed.
Her mind replayed everything.
Her father.
The shooting.
The accusations.
Adrian's silence.
And the mysterious enemies who seemed to know everything about her family.
A knock sounded.
She didn't answer.
The door opened anyway.
Adrian entered.
"How are you?"
"How do you think?"
He closed the door.
"I'm sorry."
She looked at him.
"Are you?"
"Yes."
"You knew my father was alive."
"No."
"You knew something about him."
"I knew there were unanswered questions."
"That's not the same thing."
"I know."
She looked away.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't have proof."
"You could have told me."
"I wanted to protect you."
"You keep saying that."
"Because it's true."
Amelia stood.
"I don't need you to protect me from the truth."
Adrian looked at her.
"I know."
"Then stop deciding what I should know."
He walked toward her.
"I'll tell you everything I discover."
"Promise?"
"Yes."
She studied his face.
"Why do I feel like there's still something you're hiding?"
Adrian's eyes darkened.
"Because there is."
Her heart sank.
"What?"
He hesitated.
"Your father wasn't the only person connected to your birth."
"What does that mean?"
Adrian took a breath.
"When you were born, there was another baby."
Amelia froze.
"What?"
"Your mother gave birth to twins."
The room seemed to spin.
"Twins?"
"Yes."
"Where is the other child?"
Adrian's voice was quiet.
"We don't know."
Amelia stared at him.
"You're telling me I have a twin?"
"According to the records."
"Then where is she?"
"I don't know."
"Was it a girl?"
Adrian nodded.
"A girl."
Amelia's heart pounded.
"Why didn't my mother tell me?"
"I don't know."
"Does my father know?"
"Yes."
She shook her head.
"This is impossible."
"I know."
"Why would they separate us?"
"We don't know that either."
Amelia sat down.
Her world was changing again.
She had a father.
A twin.
A family history she knew nothing about.
And every secret seemed to lead back to Blackwood.
Then Adrian's phone rang.
He answered.
"Yes?"
He listened.
His expression became cold.
"Send it to me."
He ended the call.
Amelia looked at him.
"What happened?"
"We received something."
"What?"
Adrian showed her his phone.
A photograph.
An old photograph.
It showed two newborn babies.
One was Amelia.
The other was her twin.
Written beneath the photograph was a name.
ELENA.
Amelia stared.
"That's her?"
Adrian nodded.
"That's what the record says."
She touched the photograph.
"Where is Elena?"
Adrian looked at her.
"We found a record of her."
"Where?"
His eyes darkened.
"She was adopted."
"By whom?"
He hesitated.
Amelia immediately noticed.
"Who?"
Adrian finally answered.
"Victoria's family."
Amelia's heart stopped.
"Victoria?"
"Yes."
The room went silent.
Her missing twin had been adopted by the same family connected to Adrian's missing fiancée.
Suddenly, the mystery became much bigger.
Victoria.
Elena.
Her father.
The Blackwoods.
All of them were connected.
Then Amelia noticed something else in the photograph.
There was a small mark on Elena's wrist.
The exact same birthmark Amelia had.
She touched her own wrist.
Her breathing became shallow.
"We need to find her."
Adrian nodded.
"We will."
"Promise me."
"I promise."
He reached for her hand.
But before he could say anything else, the mansion's lights suddenly went out.
Complete darkness swallowed the room.
Amelia gasped.
Adrian immediately pulled her against him.
"Stay close."
A sound came from the hallway.
Footsteps.
Slow.
Deliberate.
Someone was walking toward them.
Adrian reached for his gun.
"Who's there?"
No answer.
The footsteps stopped outside the bedroom.
Then a piece of paper slid underneath the door.
Amelia stared at it.
Adrian picked it up.
His eyes moved across the message.
His face became expressionless.
"What does it say?"
He handed it to her.
There were only six words.
YOUR SISTER IS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK.
Amelia's heart stopped.
Then another line appeared beneath it.
SHE'S ALREADY INSIDE THE MANSION.
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