Chapter 4 - The Deep Dive
Marcus’s team was thorough. Within forty-eight hours, they had compiled a dossier that made my blood run cold.
The story was consistent: my mother didn't just control; she erased. The report showed that she had systematically destroyed my father’s mental health by isolating him, gaslighting him into believing he had early-onset dementia, and then committing him to a facility she controlled to seize his voting shares in the family company.
I looked at the photos of my father in the facility. He looked like a skeleton, a hollowed-out version of the man I remembered.
"She told me he died in a boating accident," I whispered, the paper trembling in my hands.
"He’s alive, David," Marcus said, handing me a file. "But he’s a prisoner. He’s been in the Evergreen Care Center for six years. Your mother has been paying for his silence with the money she stole from your firm."
The rage was no longer hot; it was a cold, sharp blade. I had spent my life thinking my mother was a protector of our heritage, when in reality, she was a vulture circling the remains of her own family.
I turned to Elena, who was sitting on the sofa, playing with Noah’s small fingers. She looked stronger than she had a week ago. "We’re going to get him," I said.
"Get who?" she asked, her eyes widening.
"My father. He’s alive, Elena. And he’s the key to everything."
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We began to plan. It was a heist of sorts—a rescue mission from a fortress built of lies. But more than that, it was the beginning of the end for Diane. I knew that once I brought my father back into the light, my mother’s narrative would collapse.
I checked my watch. The sun was setting, casting long, sharp shadows across the room. I was no longer the pawn. I was the one who had finally realized that the game wasn't mine to play—it was mine to burn down.
