Chapter 6: The Enemy Inside Our Family
I couldn’t sleep.
That night, I sat beside my bedroom window watching the city lights.
Everything I believed about my family had changed in less than twenty-four hours.
My uncle wasn’t just jealous.
He wasn’t just cruel.
He had been watching me.
Planning.
Waiting.
And my father had been fighting a war I never knew existed.
A soft knock came at my door.
“Come in.””
My father entered.
He wasn’t wearing his usual suit.
Just a black shirt and jeans.
For a moment, he looked less like Adrian Kane and more like the father I knew.
“Can I sit?””
I nodded.
He sat beside me.
“You should be angry at me.””
I looked at him.
“Why?””
“Because I didn’t tell you.””
I was quiet.
Then I said:
“I am angry.””
He nodded.
“I understand.””
“But not because you wanted to protect me.””
He looked surprised.
“Then why?””
“Because you carried all of this alone.””
His eyes softened.
“You’re my daughter. That’s what fathers do.””
“No.””
I shook my head.
“That’s what people do when they think they have to be strong all the time.””
My father looked away.
For a moment, he looked tired.
Really tired.
“I promised your mother before she died that I would protect you.””
I froze.
My mother.
He rarely talked about her.
“What did she say?””
My father smiled sadly.
“She told me something I never forgot.””
“What?””
“She said, ‘Adrian, don’t protect our daughter from the world so much that she never learns she can survive it.’”
I looked down.
“She was right.””
“Yes.””
He smiled faintly.
“She usually was.””
A knock interrupted us.
Marco entered.
“Boss.””
My father stood.
“What?””
“We found Damian.””
My heart jumped.
“Where?””
Marco hesitated.
“He wants to meet.””
My father’s expression hardened.
“When?””
“Tonight.””
I stood.
“No.””
Both of them looked at me.
I shook my head.
“You’re going alone.””
My father opened his mouth.
“No.””
“Dad.””
The word stopped him.
“I know you want to protect me.””
I stepped closer.
“But this started because of me.””
“No.””
“Yes.””
My voice broke.
“He hurt people because he wanted to hurt you. And I’m tired of being the reason everyone is fighting.””
My father looked at me.
“You are not the reason.””
“Then let me be part of the solution.””
For several seconds, nobody spoke.
Finally, my father nodded.
“Okay.””
Marco looked shocked.
“Boss?””
“She comes.””
That night, we went to an abandoned warehouse outside the city.
Rain hit the roof.
The place looked like something from a nightmare.
My father walked ahead.
I stayed beside him.
Then a voice echoed.
“I wondered when you would finally come.””
A man stepped out of the shadows.
Damian.
My uncle.
The same man who brought me birthday gifts.
The same man who called me his favorite niece.
But now he looked like a stranger.
My father stared at him.
“Why?””
Damian smiled.
“After all these years, that’s your question?””
“You tried to destroy my daughter.””
“No.””
Damian looked at me.
“I tried to destroy the illusion that you could protect everyone.””
My father stepped forward.
“You caused her accident.””
Damian laughed softly.
“I caused a lot of things.””
My stomach dropped.
“What does that mean?””
Damian looked at me.
Then smiled.
“That means your father has been lying to you too.””
My father’s face changed.
“Damian.””
“No.””
My uncle shook his head.
“She deserves the truth.””
He pulled a document from his coat.
Then threw it toward me.
I picked it up.
My hands started shaking.
Because at the top of the page was a name.
A name I knew.
A name I never expected to see.
My father.
May you like
Damian smiled.
“Ask your father why he was the one who signed the order that changed your life forever.””
