Chapter 2: The Secret Dad Left
Amanda stared at the device like it was a ghost from her past.
“What did your father tell you?”” she asked.
Her voice was different now.
Not angry.
Scared.
I closed my hand around the device.
“Nothing.””
Amanda stepped closer.
“Give that to me.””
I backed away.
“No.””
For the first time in my life, I saw Amanda lose control.
“You don’t understand what you’re holding.””
Lily appeared at the end of the hallway.
“Mom?””
Amanda immediately changed her expression.
The scary woman disappeared.
A fake smile appeared.
“Go back to your room, sweetheart.””
“But Ethan looks scared.””
“He’s fine.””
I watched Lily.
She was small.
But she was brave.
“No,” Lily said.
“He isn’t.””
Amanda’s eyes narrowed.
“Lily.””
The warning in her voice made me move.
I grabbed Lily’s hand and pulled her behind me.
Amanda looked shocked.
Maybe because I had never stood up to her before.
“You think that little thing can save you?”” she whispered.
I didn’t answer.
Because I remembered Dad.
Six months earlier, he had packed a suitcase.
I still remembered that night.
Rain hit the windows of our old house.
Dad sat beside my bed, his eyes red.
“I have to leave for a while,” he said.
“When are you coming back?””
He looked away.
“I don’t know.””
I started crying.
He hugged me tightly.
“Ethan, listen carefully. Some people hide the truth very well.””
He placed the black device in my hand.
“What is it?””
“A recorder.””
“Why do I need a recorder?””
His expression became serious.
“Because one day, someone may tell you that what happened never happened.””
I didn’t understand then.
I did now.
Amanda had spent months trying to erase my father.
She removed his pictures.
She threw away his clothes.
She told everyone he abandoned us.
But she never knew Dad prepared for this.
That night, after Amanda sent us to bed, I hid under my blanket and studied the device.
There was only one button.
A tiny symbol on the side.
A microphone.
I pressed it.
A voice played.
My father’s voice.
“Ethan, if you’re hearing this, something went wrong.””
Tears filled my eyes.
“Dad?””
The recording continued.
“I need you to remember one thing. The truth doesn’t disappear just because someone hides it.””
I listened for hours.
There were recordings from before he left.
Conversations.
Arguments.
Things I never knew happened.
Then I heard Amanda’s voice.
My body went cold.
“I don’t want that boy here anymore.””
Dad answered.
“He’s my son.””
“He’s a reminder of your past.””
“He’s a child, Amanda.””
“He’s not mine.””
The recording stopped.
I sat there in darkness.
The next morning, Amanda walked into my room.
She saw the device beside my pillow.
And she smiled.
A dangerous smile.
“Ethan,” she said softly, “we need to talk.””
I knew then.
May you like
She wasn’t trying to take the device because she was curious.
She was trying to destroy it.
