Chapter 6 - The Father Who Never Left
"Open the door, Kate."
My father's voice came from the other side.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
Not because I was surprised.
Because I was terrified.
The man I had spent my entire life trusting was standing outside a locked cabin door in the middle of a storm.
The same man who left me behind that morning.
The same man who lied about Noah.
The same man whose office was apparently still occupied after everyone evacuated.
I looked at my mother.
Her face had lost all color.
"You said he left."
My voice was barely a whisper.
She didn't answer.
That was enough.
My hand tightened around my phone.
Another message appeared.
From Noah.
"Don't open the door."
I showed it to Claire.
Her expression changed.
"He knows we're here."
"Who?"
She looked at the door.
"Your father."
The handle moved.
Slowly.
My father wasn't trying to break in.
He wasn't angry.
He was waiting.
Like he knew we would eventually let him in.
"Kate."
His voice became softer.
"You don't understand what you're involved in."
I stepped closer to the door.
Every part of me wanted to open it.
Because no matter what I discovered, some part of me still saw him as my father.
The man who taught me how to ride a bike.
The man who held my hand when I was afraid of storms.
The man who told me family came first.
But then I remembered him closing the truck door.
I remembered him choosing to drive away.
"Why did you leave me?"
The question escaped before I could stop it.
Silence.
A long, painful silence.
Then my father answered.
"Because I was trying to save you."
I almost laughed.
"Save me?"
I looked at the locked door.
"You left me in a flood."
"I knew someone was watching."
My body froze.
"What?"
My father continued.
"The evacuation wasn't about the flood."
Claire looked at me.
I felt the same fear in her eyes.
"What does that mean?"
My father lowered his voice.
"It means your family wasn't the only one trying to escape."
Nobody spoke.
The storm outside became louder.
I looked at my mother.
"Tell me he's lying."
She looked down.
And I knew.
She wasn't.
"Mom."
Her eyes filled with tears.
"There was someone following us."
My stomach dropped.
"Who?"
My mother shook her head.
"We don't know."
Claire suddenly stepped toward the laptop.
"He's buying time."
My father stopped talking.
Claire looked at me.
"Kate, don't listen to him."
I stared at her.
"You just told me not to trust you."
She didn't look away.
"I know."
"Then why should I believe anything you say?"
Her face changed.
Because she didn't have an answer.
Then my father spoke again.
"Kate."
His voice was different now.
Not commanding.
Not angry.
Desperate.
"Ask Claire what happened the night Noah disappeared."
Claire went completely still.
My mother looked at her.
"Claire..."
I turned.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
The silence was unbearable.
I grabbed the laptop.
"Someone is going to tell me the truth."
I opened the folder again.
There were more files.
One folder had a name.
NOAH - FINAL.
I clicked it.
Inside was a video.
Recorded the same night.
I pressed play.
The screen showed a dark road.
A car parked beside the trees.
Noah was standing outside.
Alive.
Afraid.
But someone else was there.
A woman.
I couldn't see her face.
Noah was speaking.
"You promised you would help me."
The woman answered.
"I am helping you."
"No. You're protecting them."
The woman's voice was calm.
"You don't understand what you're dealing with."
Noah stepped closer.
"You knew what my father was doing."
A pause.
Then the woman said:
"I knew."
My heart started racing.
Noah looked furious.
"Then why didn't you stop him?"
The woman didn't answer.
Noah raised the camera.
"Because you were part of it."
The video shook.
The woman moved closer.
Then for one second, the camera caught her face.
I stopped breathing.
I knew her.
Everyone in the room knew her.
Because she wasn't a stranger.
She wasn't someone from my father's business.
She was someone who had sat at our dinner table.
Someone who had hugged me.
Someone who had called me family.
I looked at my mother.
She was crying.
"No."
I whispered.
"No."
Claire turned away.
Because she knew.
The woman in the video was her.
"You were there."
My voice broke.
"You were there the night Noah disappeared."
Claire closed her eyes.
"Yes."
The word destroyed whatever trust I had left.
"You lied to me."
"I was trying to protect you."
"Everyone says that!"
I slammed my hand on the table.
"Everyone says they're protecting me while they destroy my life!"
The room became silent.
Claire looked at the floor.
"I didn't know what they would do."
"Who?"
She didn't answer.
"Who, Claire?"
Her eyes lifted.
"The people your father worked for."
I stared at her.
"What people?"
Claire walked toward the laptop.
She opened another file.
A list appeared.
Names.
Hundreds of names.
Some crossed out.
Some highlighted.
Then I saw one name.
Noah Carter.
Next to it:
STATUS: REMOVED.
My blood went cold.
"Removed?"
Claire nodded.
"That's what they called it."
I felt sick.
"They planned this?"
"Yes."
"Who?"
Claire looked at the locked door.
Then at my father standing outside.
"Your father wasn't the person who ordered Noah's disappearance."
I frowned.
"Then who was?"
Before she could answer, the lights outside turned on.
The cabin windows suddenly filled with bright headlights.
Not one vehicle.
Several.
My mother looked terrified.
"They found us."
My father shouted from outside.
"Kate! Open this door now!"
But his voice wasn't angry anymore.
It was scared.
Real fear.
Claire grabbed the hard drive.
"We have seconds."
"Who is coming?"
She looked at me.
"The people who made Noah disappear."
The cabin door shook.
Someone hit it from outside.
Once.
Twice.
The old wood cracked.
My phone vibrated.
A new message.
From Noah.
I opened it.
Only one sentence.
"Kate, if they get inside, do not believe the person who walks in first."
The door cracked again.
Everyone turned toward it.
Then the lock snapped.
May you like
The door began opening.
And the first person standing outside was not my father...
