CHAPTER 6 – THE FATHER WHO COULDN'T REMEMBER HIS SON
Guided by the documents from the deposit box, Ethan and Clara raced toward the isolated estate hidden deep in the mountains.
The mansion looked abandoned.
Broken gates.
Dark windows.
No guards in sight.
Too quiet.
Inside, every room was covered with dust—except one.
A single bedroom.
The door slowly creaked open.
An elderly man sat beside the window, staring silently at the snow-covered mountains.
His hair was completely white.
His body was weak.
But Ethan recognized the eyes immediately.
"Dad..."
The old man slowly turned.
For a brief second, tears filled his eyes.
Then he frowned.
"I'm sorry..."
"...do I know you?"
Ethan felt his entire world collapse.
Thirty years of torture.
Thirty years of hiding.
Richard hadn't killed Michael Carter.
He had done something even crueler.
Years of drugs, isolation, and experimental treatments had stolen almost every memory he had.
Before Ethan could answer, alarms suddenly echoed throughout the mansion.
Clara looked out the window.
"Oh no..."
More than twenty black SUVs were climbing the mountain road.
Richard had found them.
Loudspeakers crackled across the estate.
Richard's cold voice echoed through the valley.
"You can keep your father..."
"...but one of you dies before sunrise."
Then the electricity went out.
The mansion fell into complete darkness.
From somewhere inside the house...
May you like
A child quietly whispered:
"Grandpa... they're already inside."
