Chapter 6: The Son Who Was Left Behind
The first thing I noticed was the empty chair.
My father had been standing there seconds earlier.
Then the lights went out.
And he disappeared.
No footsteps.
No warning.
No goodbye.
Just gone.
I stared at the space where he had been standing.
My mind tried to find a reasonable explanation.
A hidden door.
A distraction.
A guard pulling him away.
Anything.
Anything except the truth.
He had left.
Again.
Lucas watched me carefully.
Not with surprise.
Not with anger.
With understanding.
Like he had expected it.
"Now you know.""
I looked at him.
"Know what?""
His expression hardened.
"That he always leaves.""
The words hit harder than I expected.
I turned toward the door.
"Where did he go?""
Lucas laughed quietly.
"You still think this is about where he went?""
I stepped toward him.
"Where is he?""
Lucas didn't move.
"You're just like him.""
I stopped.
"What does that mean?""
"You ask questions when you already know the answer.""
I clenched my fists.
"I don't know anything.""
For the first time, Lucas looked almost surprised.
Then his face softened slightly.
"You really don't.""
It wasn't sympathy.
It was realization.
He looked at Tank.
"How much did he tell him?""
Tank shook his head.
"Not enough.""
Lucas nodded.
"Of course not.""
The warden stood near the doorway, watching everything.
He looked satisfied.
Like he had created the exact moment he wanted.
I noticed.
"You knew this would happen.""
Warden Vale smiled.
"I knew your father couldn't tell you the truth.""
"Why?""
"Because the truth makes people look different.""
He looked at Lucas.
"Especially heroes.""
Lucas's jaw tightened.
"Don't call him that.""
The warden turned toward him.
"Still protecting him?""
Lucas looked away.
"No.""
A pause.
"I'm protecting the truth.""
That answer confused me.
Because the hatred between them felt real.
But so did the history.
I looked at Lucas.
"What happened to you?""
The question surprised everyone.
Lucas stared at me.
"What?""
"You were five years old.""
My voice lowered.
"What happened after they took you?""
For several seconds, he didn't answer.
Then he walked to the table.
He picked up the old photograph.
His fingers traced the image.
"I remembered this.""
He tapped the picture.
"The house.""
"My mother.""
"My father.""
"Me.""
Then he looked at me.
"And you.""
I didn't speak.
"I remembered you crying when I left.""
My breathing stopped.
"I don't remember that.""
"Of course you don't.""
Lucas placed the photo down.
"They made sure you wouldn't.""
The warden stepped closer.
"Lucas.""
But Lucas ignored him.
"They told me my father chose you.""
I looked down.
"Did he?""
Lucas smiled sadly.
"That's the funny part.""
He looked at my father’s old dog tag.
"I spent years hating you.""
His eyes met mine.
"I imagined you growing up with everything I lost.""
I swallowed.
"I didn't know.""
"I know.""
That surprised me.
Lucas looked away.
"You were a child.""
The anger in his voice faded.
"That was the part I hated most.""
I frowned.
"What?""
"That I couldn't even hate you properly.""
The room went quiet.
Lucas sat down.
For the first time, I saw something beyond the prison tattoos and cold expression.
A child who never got to leave.
"What happened after they took you?""
Lucas looked at the floor.
"They changed my name.""
I stared.
"They erased everything.""
He touched the tattoo on his arm.
"I became a number.""
Tank spoke quietly.
"That's why he survived.""
Lucas glanced at him.
"Don't make it sound like a victory.""
Tank lowered his eyes.
I looked between them.
"You two know each other.""
Lucas nodded.
"Tank found me.""
"When?""
"Years ago.""
Tank looked at me.
"Before he became what everyone thinks he is.""
I looked at Tank.
"The biggest inmate in Stateville.""
Tank gave a small smile.
"That was necessary.""
Lucas nodded.
"In here, being feared keeps people away.""
I looked at him.
"And being feared kept you alive.""
"Exactly.""
The warden suddenly laughed.
Everyone turned.
"You all love pretending you're different.""
His voice was calm.
"But you're all the same.""
He looked at me.
"You think your father is a hero because he saved you.""
Then Lucas.
"You think your brother is innocent because he suffered.""
Then Tank.
"You think he's honorable because he protected people.""
He smiled.
"Everyone in this room has blood on their hands.""
Nobody answered.
Because maybe everyone knew there was some truth in that.
I looked at the warden.
"What do you want from me?""
The question changed his expression.
For the first time, he looked interested.
"Good.""
He stepped closer.
"Finally, the right question.""
Lucas immediately stood.
"Don't listen to him.""
The warden ignored him.
"Your father spent years trying to destroy my organization.""
"Organization?""
The warden smiled.
"You still don't understand.""
He pointed toward the prison walls.
"This isn't just a prison.""
I looked around.
"What is it?""
"A filter.""
The word made no sense.
"A filter?""
He nodded.
"The world sends us people it doesn't know what to do with.""
He smiled.
"We decide who leaves.""
A cold feeling moved through me.
"You mean people disappear.""
The warden didn't deny it.
"Your father discovered that.""
"And you killed my mother.""
His smile faded.
"No.""
That answer surprised me.
"I didn't.""
He looked at Lucas.
"Someone else did.""
Lucas immediately looked away.
I noticed.
"You know something.""
Lucas said nothing.
"Lucas.""
Still nothing.
I stepped closer.
"You know who killed her.""
His face tightened.
Then he said:
"Yes.""
The room became silent.
"Who?""
Lucas looked at the warden.
Then at Tank.
Then finally at me.
And what he said changed everything.
"It wasn't the warden.""
I felt my stomach drop.
"Then who?""
Lucas whispered:
"The person you trusted most.""
I stared at him.
My mind searched through every face from my childhood.
Every person who was there after my mother died.
Every person who comforted me.
Every person who told me everything would be okay.
Then Lucas said the name.
A name I never expected.
"Uncle David.""
The room went silent.
My uncle.
The man who raised me after my father died.
The man who held me at the funeral.
The man who told me my father loved me.
The man who signed my adoption papers.
Impossible.
I shook my head.
"No.""
Lucas watched me.
"I saw him.""
"When?""
"The night your mother died.""
I stepped back.
"No.""
Lucas continued.
"He wasn't there to save her.""
My hands started shaking.
"He was there to make sure she couldn't tell anyone.""
The lights flickered.
Again.
But this time, nobody moved.
Because everyone was listening.
Everyone except the person who suddenly appeared outside the door.
A guard.
Holding a file.
A file with my name on it.
He opened the door slowly.
"Sorry to interrupt.""
His eyes moved to me.
"But we found something during a search of the old records room.""
He dropped the file onto the table.
I looked down.
My blood turned cold.
Because on the cover was a date.
The day my mother died.
And underneath it was a signature.
Not my uncle's.
Not the warden's.
Not my father's.
May you like
Mine.
*ETHAN COLE.*
