Chapter 7: The Man Who Came Back From the Dead
For several seconds, nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Victor Hale stood in the doorway like a memory that had somehow stepped out of the past.
Older.
Thinner.
His hair was gray now.
But his eyes were exactly the same.
The same eyes I remembered from my childhood.
The same eyes that had watched my father build his company.
The same eyes that my father once trusted.
I grabbed the nearest object on the table.
A heavy metal tool.
Detective Harris immediately raised his hand.
“Michael, don’t.””
I didn’t lower it.
“You’re dead.””
Victor looked at me.
A sad smile appeared on his face.
“That’s what everyone was supposed to believe.””
Vanessa stepped backward.
“No…”
Victor looked at her.
“Hello, Vanessa.””
Her face lost all color.
“You knew he was alive.””
It wasn’t a question.
It was an accusation.
Victor sighed.
“I was hoping we could avoid this.””
I looked between them.
“You two know each other.””
Nobody answered.
That was the answer.
My grip tightened around the tool.
“Someone better start talking.””
Victor slowly walked into the workshop.
“I’m not your enemy, Michael.””
I laughed.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“No.””
He looked at the old workbench.
“Your father wouldn’t have believed me either.””
The mention of my father made my anger rise.
“Don’t say his name.””
Victor stopped.
“I failed him.””
The room became quiet.
I hated that his voice sounded genuine.
Because a part of me remembered the man he used to be.
The man who brought me baseball gloves.
The man who taught me how to fix engines.
The man my father called his brother.
Then I remembered the empty years.
The rumors.
The betrayal.
“You abandoned him.””
Victor looked down.
“Yes.””
The honesty surprised me.
“Why?””
He walked toward the table.
“Because I was trying to keep him alive.””
Detective Harris frowned.
“That doesn’t explain anything.””
Victor looked at him.
“Detective, you’ve been investigating the wrong crime for years.””
Harris stiffened.
“What does that mean?””
Victor reached into his coat.
I immediately raised the tool again.
He slowly pulled out a small folder.
“I have proof.””
He placed it on the table.
Inside were bank records.
Names.
Dates.
Transactions.
My father’s company records.
I looked through them.
The numbers were impossible.
Millions moved through accounts I had never heard of.
“What am I looking at?””
Victor answered quietly.
“The people who destroyed your father.””
Detective Harris studied the documents.
“Where did you get these?””
Victor looked at me.
“Your father gave them to me.””
I froze.
“No.””
“Yes.””
“My father hated you.””
Victor swallowed.
“He did.””
The answer shocked me.
“He hated what I did.””
He pointed at the papers.
“But he knew I was trying to fix it.””
Vanessa finally spoke.
“Why didn’t you tell him?””
Victor looked at her.
“Because Daniel found out.””
Her expression changed.
Daniel.
The name that kept appearing everywhere.
Victor continued.
“Daniel wasn’t working for me. He was working against me.””
I shook my head.
“Then why was he with you in the company?””
“Because he was planted there.””
Detective Harris crossed his arms.
“By who?””
Victor looked toward the door.
Before answering, he locked it.
That small action made everyone tense.
“By someone who still has power.””
I stepped forward.
“Who?””
Victor looked at Vanessa.
And I hated that.
Because I knew something was coming.
“Your wife knows.””
Vanessa covered her mouth.
“No.””
I stared at her.
“What does he mean?””
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
“Michael…”
“Tell me.””
Victor spoke.
“She wasn’t just connected to Daniel.””
Vanessa closed her eyes.
“She was connected to your father.””
I felt like I couldn’t breathe.
“What does that mean?””
Victor looked at the photograph from the video.
“The night your father died, Vanessa was there.””
I turned toward her.
“No.””
She started crying.
“I was trying to help him.””
“Then why didn’t you tell me?””
“Because I promised him I wouldn’t.””
I stared.
“You promised my dead father?””
She nodded.
“He told me if anyone knew the truth, they would come after you.””
The workshop suddenly felt too small.
Detective Harris looked at Victor.
“What truth?””
Victor opened his mouth.
Then his phone rang.
Everyone froze.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“What?””
I watched his face turn pale.
“Who is it?””
Victor didn’t answer.
He slowly showed us the phone.
A message.
One line.
*You should have stayed dead.*
Then another message appeared.
A photograph.
Taken moments earlier.
Of our workshop.
Of all of us standing inside.
Someone was watching us.
May you like
Victor whispered:
“He found us.””
