Chapter 6: The Father I Never Knew
Some truths do not break your heart because they hurt.
They break your heart because they rearrange everything you thought you understood.
For three years, I believed my mother had been the victim.
I believed she was taken from me because she discovered something dangerous.
I believed I was the person left behind.
But standing in Larkin Steves’ office, with Thomas staring at me like he had just revealed the most dangerous secret in the world, I realized something much worse.
My mother hadn’t disappeared because she was unlucky.
She disappeared because she was protecting me.
From my own father.
A man I had spent my entire life believing was simply absent.
Not dangerous.
Not powerful.
Not someone capable of destroying everything around him.
Just gone.
I looked at Thomas.
“You’re lying.””
My voice sounded calmer than I felt.
That was the advantage of being invisible.
You learned how to hide every earthquake happening inside you.
Thomas didn’t react.
“I wish I was.””
“You expect me to believe my father tried to kill my mother?””
“No.””
He shook his head.
“I expect you to believe that your father was the reason she ran.””
Larkin stood silently near his desk.
I could feel him watching me.
Not like a suspect.
Like someone trying to understand a story he had never heard before.
“Who was my father?”” I asked.
Thomas looked away.
“That’s the problem.””
“What does that mean?””
“It means your mother made sure nobody knew.””
I stepped closer.
“My mother knew.””
“Yes.””
“Then tell me.””
Thomas hesitated.
And that hesitation made me angry.
“You have spent three years knowing something about my life and saying nothing.””
His expression tightened.
“You think I wanted to?””
“You knew where she went.””
“No.””
“You knew she was alive.””
“No.””
“Then what did you know?””
Thomas looked at me.
“The night your mother disappeared, she came to me.””
Everything stopped.
“What?””
Larkin’s eyes narrowed.
“She came to you?””
Thomas nodded.
“She was injured.””
My hands went cold.
“What kind of injured?””
He swallowed.
“She had been attacked.””
The room became silent.
“By who?””
Thomas looked at the floor.
“She didn’t know.””
That made no sense.
My mother knew everything.
She was the person who taught me to question every detail.
“You’re saying she didn’t know who attacked her?””
“No.””
“Then why did she come to you?””
Thomas answered quietly.
“Because she knew I hated my uncle.””
Larkin’s expression changed.
“My father.””
Thomas nodded.
“Yes.””
The words hung there.
Larkin’s father.
The man who built the empire.
The man who raised Larkin.
The man whose secrets were buried inside this building.
Thomas continued.
“Your mother knew something about him. Something that could destroy him.””
“What?””
“I never found out.””
I stared at him.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“Yes.””
“Why?””
“Because she didn’t trust me enough to tell me.””
The honesty surprised me.
Thomas wasn’t defending himself.
He was admitting he had been kept in the dark.
“She gave me something,” he said.
“What?””
“A name.””
I froze.
“Whose?””
Thomas looked at me.
“Yours.””
The answer made no sense.
“My name?””
He nodded.
“She said if anything happened to her, I had to protect Penelope Woods.””
I felt my chest tighten.
“But I was already Penelope Woods.””
Thomas shook his head.
“No.””
A strange fear moved through me.
“What do you mean?””
“She said that wasn’t your real name.””
The room became unbearably quiet.
I looked at Larkin.
He looked back at me.
Neither of us spoke.
Because suddenly, my entire identity felt like another carefully constructed illusion.
I had always known Penelope Woods was a shield.
But I had never questioned the person underneath.
Thomas reached into his jacket.
Larkin immediately moved.
“Slowly.””
Thomas rolled his eyes.
“Still dramatic.””
“Move.””
Thomas pulled out a small envelope.
Not a document.
Not a weapon.
Just an old envelope.
He placed it on the desk.
“She left this for you.””
I stared at it.
“My mother?””
“Yes.””
“Why didn’t you give it to me?””
Thomas looked uncomfortable.
“Because I never knew where you were.””
“That’s impossible.””
“No.””
He looked at me.
“You disappeared better than anyone I’ve ever seen.””
I almost smiled.
Because he was right.
That was the entire point.
I had spent years becoming nobody.
Thomas pushed the envelope toward me.
“Open it.””
I hesitated.
Then I picked it up.
My name was written across the front.
Not Penelope Woods.
Another name.
A name I had never seen before.
My fingers shook.
I opened it.
Inside was one piece of paper.
Only a few lines.
But they changed everything.
*Penelope,*
*If you are reading this, I failed to keep you away from them.*
*I need you to understand one thing. Your father is not the most dangerous person connected to this story.*
*The most dangerous person is the one who convinced him to become a monster.*
I stopped reading.
My eyes moved to the next line.
*Trust Larkin Steves only if he chooses the truth over his family.*
I looked up.
Larkin had seen it.
His face gave nothing away.
But the message was clear.
My mother had known him.
Not just his family.
Him.
A sound came from outside the office.
A loud crash.
Everyone turned.
The security alarms started again.
This time, faster.
More urgent.
A guard rushed in.
“Mr. Steves!””
Larkin turned.
“What happened?””
“The archive room.””
“What about it?””
The guard looked at me.
“The files are gone.””
Larkin’s expression darkened.
“Which files?””
The guard hesitated.
“The ones your father left behind.””
My stomach tightened.
Thomas whispered:
“No.””
Larkin looked at him.
“What?””
Thomas looked toward the hallway.
“The person who has been searching for those files…”
He stopped.
“Who?””
Thomas’s face went pale.
“Your father’s old partner.””
The guard looked confused.
“Mr. Steves, your father didn’t have a partner.””
Thomas gave a bitter laugh.
“That’s what everyone was supposed to believe.””
Larkin stepped forward.
“Name.””
Thomas didn’t answer.
He looked at me instead.
And suddenly I understood.
This was the name my mother had spent three years trying to hide.
The person who knew my real identity.
The person who knew she was alive.
The person who had been watching me.
“Thomas.””
Larkin’s voice became dangerous.
“Name.””
Thomas finally spoke.
“Adrian Vale.””
The name meant nothing to me.
But the reaction around the room did.
The security guards looked terrified.
Larkin went completely still.
And that was when I knew.
This man was not a forgotten enemy.
He was someone everyone feared.
“Who is Adrian Vale?”” I asked.
Nobody answered.
Then Larkin quietly said:
“He built my father’s empire.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Then why have I never heard of him?””
Larkin looked at me.
“Because everyone who knew him…”
A pause.
“Forgot him.””
“That doesn’t make sense.””
“It will.””
He walked toward the window.
Outside, Manhattan continued moving.
Cars.
Lights.
Thousands of people living ordinary lives.
Not knowing how much darkness existed beneath them.
“My father erased Adrian Vale from every record.””
“Why?””
Larkin looked at the city.
“Because Adrian wasn’t his partner.””
“Then what was he?””
Larkin turned back.
His expression was something I had never seen before.
Fear.
Real fear.
“He was the man who taught my father how to become powerful.””
The lights suddenly went out.
Again.
But this time, nobody moved.
Because we all knew.
This wasn’t a coincidence.
A message appeared on the office screens.
One sentence.
No video.
No warning.
Just words.
*PENELOPE WOODS, YOU HAVE EXACTLY ONE HOUR TO LEAVE NEW YORK.*
Then another line appeared.
*OR I WILL FINISH WHAT I STARTED WITH YOUR MOTHER.*
I stared at the screen.
My mother.
Alive.
Somewhere.
Being hunted.
And for the first time in three years, I stopped thinking about hiding.
Because whoever Adrian Vale was…
May you like
He had made one mistake.
He reminded me who I was.
