CHAPTER 6 — THE FATHER WHO WASN'T DEAD
Ethan couldn't breathe.
Richard Carter...
...wasn't his father?
The words echoed inside his head as firefighters battled the flames outside the cathedral.
"What did you just say?" Ethan demanded.
Victoria didn't answer immediately.
Instead, she looked toward the giant stained-glass window where smoke drifted through the broken panels.
"Everything you've believed about your life was carefully manufactured."
Richard suddenly laughed.
"You should have kept your mouth shut, Victoria."
She smiled.
"Too late."
The lead detective stepped between them.
"Mr. Carter, you're under arrest for kidnapping, conspiracy, fraud, and attempted murder."
Before anyone could place the handcuffs on Richard...
He raised both hands.
"I'll cooperate."
Everyone froze.
Richard had never surrendered to anyone.
He looked directly at Ethan.
"I lied about many things."
"But not about one."
"I truly wanted to protect you."
Ethan's voice cracked.
"Protect me from who?"
Richard slowly turned toward the cathedral entrance.
"From your real father."
At that exact moment...
A black luxury SUV rolled through the smoke and stopped at the shattered front doors.
Its engine shut off.
The driver's door opened.
A tall silver-haired man stepped out wearing a perfectly tailored navy suit.
He looked to be in his early sixties.
The moment Ethan saw his face...
His blood ran cold.
The stranger looked exactly like him.
The same piercing blue eyes.
The same jawline.
Even the same scar above the left eyebrow.
Gasps swept through the crowd.
Sophia covered her mouth.
"It... it can't be..."
The man walked calmly into the cathedral as if he owned the building.
Every detective instinctively lowered their weapons.
Even Richard Carter lowered his head in silence.
The stranger stopped only a few feet from Ethan.
Then he smiled.
"I've waited twenty-five years for this moment."
He reached into his coat pocket and removed an old family photograph.
It showed Ethan as a baby...
...sleeping in the arms of the very man standing before him.
"My name is Alexander Blackwood."
His voice was calm.
"And I'm the father they convinced the world was dead."
Ethan staggered backward.
"No..."
Alexander nodded slowly.
"They stole my son."
"They stole my company."
"They stole my life."
He looked at Richard one final time.
"And today..."
"I'm taking everything back."
Before anyone could react, a sniper's laser dot suddenly appeared on Alexander's chest.
A single red light danced over his heart.
May you like
Then...
A gunshot echoed across the cathedral.
