CHAPTER 9
1041 Words
Lucy stared at the photograph.
Her father was standing beside the wrecked car.
The same car everyone had told her she died in.
“No…”
Her voice came out weak.
“That’s my father.”
Elena moved closer and looked at the picture.
Her face went pale.
“It really is him.”
Lucy turned to her.
“You knew?”
“No.”
“You knew he was alive!”
“I didn't know!”
Lucy threw the photograph onto the bed.
“Then why is everyone lying to me?”
Nobody answered.
She turned to Damian.
“You said my father was dead.”
“I believed he was.”
“You believed?”
Damian sighed.
“Lucy, listen to me.”
“No! You listen to me.”
She pointed at the photograph.
“That is my father standing beside the car that almost killed me. You knew something was wrong, yet you kept quiet.”
“I was trying to protect you.”
“You keep saying that!”
Lucy wiped the tears from her face.
“I'm beginning to think protecting me is just another word for lying to me.”
Lucien stepped forward.
“She has a point.”
Damian glared at him.
“This doesn't concern you.”
Lucien smiled slightly.
“It concerns me when Lucy is being threatened.”
Lucy looked between them.
“Can you two stop acting like children for five minutes?”
Lucien raised his hands.
“Fine.”
Damian said nothing.
Lucy picked up the photograph again.
“There has to be more.”
She turned it over.
Nothing.
Then she noticed something in the corner.
A small date was printed underneath the picture.
Five years ago.
Three days after the accident.
Lucy frowned.
“That can't be right.”
Elena looked at it.
“Why?”
“Because everyone said Father died before my accident.”
Elena's eyes widened.
“So he was alive after.”
Lucy nodded.
“And he came back.”
Damian walked toward them.
“Or someone wanted us to believe he did.”
Lucy looked at him.
“Why would someone fake a photograph?”
Damian stared at the picture.
“I don't know.”
Lucien took it from Lucy.
“There’s something behind the car.”
They all looked closer.
A man was standing near the driver's door.
His face was partly hidden.
Lucy squinted.
“Victor.”
Lucien nodded.
“So Victor was there too.”
Elena whispered,
“This is getting worse.”
Lucy gave a tired laugh.
“When you said that, I was hoping you were going to say something comforting.”
Elena smiled weakly.
“I don't have anything comforting.”
“Great.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Lucy's phone rang.
Unknown number.
She stared at it.
Damian immediately said,
“Don't answer.”
Lucy looked at him.
“Why?”
“Because it could be Victor.”
“Exactly why I'm answering.”
She pressed the call button.
“Hello?”
Silence.
Then a man's voice spoke.
“You're asking the wrong questions.”
Lucy froze.
“Who are you?”
“You want to know what happened that night?”
“Yes.”
“Then stop trusting your husband.”
Damian's expression changed.
Lucy looked at him.
The caller continued.
“He wasn't the only man who found you after the crash.”
The call ended.
Lucy lowered the phone slowly.
Damian stepped closer.
“Lucy…”
She moved away.
“Don't.”
“I didn't hurt you.”
“Then tell me who else found me.”
Damian remained silent.
Lucien looked at him.
“You really should answer that one.”
Damian's eyes hardened.
“I found Lucy first.”
“That's not what he said,” Lucy replied.
Damian looked at her.
“I found you first.”
“Then who found me after you?”
He didn't answer.
Lucy felt her heart sink.
“You don't know?”
“I know.”
“Who?”
Damian looked toward the window.
“Your father.”
Lucy stopped breathing.
“What?”
“He was there.”
Elena covered her mouth.
Lucy stared at Damian.
“My father found me?”
“Yes.”
“Then why didn't he save me?”
Damian's voice became low.
“Because he wasn't there to save you.”
Lucy felt the room spin.
“Why was he there?”
Damian looked directly into her eyes.
“He came to make sure you were dead.”
Lucy shook her head.
“No.”
“He thought you had discovered something.”
“What?”
Damian hesitated.
“Something about him.”
Lucy stepped back.
“What did I discover?”
Damian's expression changed.
“You discovered that your father had ordered your mother's death.”
Silence filled the room.
Elena suddenly broke down crying.
Lucy looked at her.
“Elena?”
Her sister covered her face.
Lucy felt something inside her break.
“My mother…”
Elena slowly nodded.
“Yes.”
Lucy stared at both of them.
“My father killed my mother?”
Before anyone could answer, the bedroom window shattered.
Lucy screamed.
Damian pulled her down.
Glass fell everywhere.
Lucien grabbed Elena and pushed her behind the bed.
Another shot hit the wall.
“Stay down!” Damian shouted.
Lucy crawled toward Elena.
“Who is shooting at us?”
Lucien looked through the broken window.
“I can't see him.”
Damian reached for his gun.
“Then we move.”
They rushed toward the hallway.
Suddenly, Lucy saw a shadow outside.
A man was standing across the street.
He wasn't hiding.
He was watching them.
Then he lifted his hand.
Lucy froze.
She knew that face.
She had seen it in her memories.
She whispered,
“That's him.”
Damian looked at her.
“Who?”
Lucy pointed toward the window.
“The man who was in the car with me.”
But when they looked again, the man was gone.
On the floor beside Lucy was a small piece of paper.
She picked it up.
Only five words were written on it.
**YOUR FATHER IS STILL ALIVE.**
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