PART 3 — The Father They Tried to Erase
PART 3 — The Father They Tried to Erase
The headlights remained fixed on the cabin.
No one spoke.
Nicholas slowly closed the laptop.
His face had become frighteningly calm.
Almost too calm.
"They found us."
I peered through a crack in the curtain.
A single black SUV sat outside.
Its engine was still running.
No lights inside.
No movement.
Just waiting.
My heartbeat thundered in my ears.
"We have to leave."
Nicholas shook his head.
"We've been running for hours."
"If that's Richard..."
"...he already knows every road we'd take."
A knock echoed through the cabin.
Three slow knocks.
Then silence.
Another three.
Marcus had taught Nicholas that pattern years ago.
"It's a security code," Nicholas whispered.
"But Marcus is supposed to be back in Chicago."
Another knock.
This time a voice.
"Nicholas."
The voice sounded old.
Tired.
"I know you're in there."
"I don't have much time."
Nicholas froze.
His eyes widened.
"No..."
The voice came again.
"If you want the truth..."
"...open the door."
Nicholas looked at me.
"What if it's a trap?"
I didn't answer.
Because I didn't know.
He walked toward the entrance anyway.
Slowly.
Carefully.
His trembling hand unlocked the deadbolt.
The door opened.
Standing on the porch was an elderly man with silver hair, worn blue jeans, and a faded leather jacket.
Rain soaked his clothes.
His face was lined with age.
But his eyes—
Those piercing blue eyes—
They were identical to Nicholas's.
The old man smiled sadly.
"Hello, son."
Nicholas stared.
Unable to breathe.
Unable to blink.
"I've waited twenty-nine years to say that."
Then he collapsed.
Not Nicholas.
The old man.
I rushed forward with Nicholas.
His pulse was weak.
There was blood beneath his jacket.
A gunshot wound.
Fresh.
We carried him inside and laid him on the couch.
As I pressed towels against the wound, Nicholas knelt beside him.
"Who did this?"
The old man laughed weakly.
"Richard."
"He caught up with me two hours ago."
"He thought I'd already destroyed the evidence."
Nicholas's hands shook.
"You really are my father?"
The old man reached into his pocket.
He removed a faded photograph.
A young woman held a newborn baby.
Beside her stood the same man, smiling proudly.
On the back, written in faded ink:
Our first family picture. March 18.
Love,
Dad.
Nicholas burst into tears.
"I thought..."
"...you abandoned me."
The old man slowly lifted his hand to Nicholas's face.
"I fought every single day to come back."
"They made sure I couldn't."
His name was Daniel Ashford.
Twenty-nine years earlier, he had owned forty-nine percent of Ashford Industries.
His wife, Eleanor, owned only ten.
The remaining shares belonged to investors.
But Daniel had one problem.
He trusted his wife completely.
"I signed power-of-attorney documents after you were born."
He coughed painfully.
"I wanted Eleanor to manage the company while I stayed home with you."
Nicholas frowned.
"You?"
Daniel smiled.
"I loved being your father."
"I never cared about board meetings."
"I cared about bedtime stories."
"I changed your diapers."
"I learned lullabies."
His smile faded.
"Then Richard arrived."
According to Daniel, Richard Holden had convinced Eleanor that investors would never respect a family company led by an emotional husband.
He whispered poison into her ears.
More power.
More control.
More money.
Eventually...
Love became ambition.
One week after Nicholas was born, Daniel was accused of corporate fraud.
Fake evidence.
Fake witnesses.
Frozen bank accounts.
Before he could defend himself...
He disappeared.
"I was kidnapped."
Daniel said it so calmly it felt unreal.
"They kept me in a private psychiatric facility under another name."
Nicholas stared in horror.
"For how long?"
Daniel looked away.
"Seventeen years."
The room fell silent.
"They drugged me."
"They changed my records."
"They declared me mentally unstable."
"No one looked for me."
I covered my mouth.
It sounded impossible.
Yet every piece fit together.
The missing father.
The hidden letter.
The manipulated empire.
Everything.
"But I escaped."
Daniel continued.
"Five years ago."
Nicholas looked confused.
"Five years?"
"Why didn't you find me?"
Daniel closed his eyes.
"I tried."
"Every person I contacted disappeared."
"Every lawyer refused."
"Every investigator quit."
"I realized Eleanor's network reached everywhere."
"So I waited."
"For what?"
Daniel smiled.
"For someone inside the mansion..."
"...who wasn't loyal to money."
His eyes slowly turned toward me.
"Iris."
I blinked.
"What?"
"I've known about you."
My heart skipped.
Daniel nodded.
"Marcus sent me reports."
"The maid who refused expensive gifts."
"The woman who sat outside Nicholas's bedroom after his surgeries."
"The employee who never sold stories to the media."
"The only person Richard couldn't buy."
Nicholas looked at me in disbelief.
"You knew?"
I nodded slowly.
"I never accepted bonuses from reporters."
"I figured privacy mattered."
Daniel smiled.
"It saved my son's life."
Suddenly—
The cabin lights went out.
Darkness swallowed the room.
Outside...
Car doors slammed.
One.
Two.
Three.
More.
Flashlights swept across the windows.
Nicholas helped Daniel sit upright.
"They're here."
A loudspeaker crackled outside.
"Nicholas Ashford."
Richard's voice.
"I know Daniel is with you."
"This ends tonight."
No one moved.
Richard continued.
"I've already called the police."
"I told them Daniel kidnapped you."
"They'll believe me."
"You have ten minutes."
Then silence.
Daniel slowly reached beneath the couch.
To my astonishment, he pulled out another metal box hidden inside the floor.
He handed the key to Nicholas.
"I prepared this years ago."
Inside lay dozens of original documents.
Birth certificates.
Corporate contracts.
Hospital records.
And one sealed envelope marked:
DNA RESULTS
Nicholas opened it immediately.
His eyes raced across the page.
Then confusion replaced relief.
"This says..."
He looked at Daniel.
"It says you're not my biological father."
I felt the air leave my lungs.
Daniel didn't appear surprised.
Instead...
He smiled.
"I know."
Nicholas stepped backward.
"What?"
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"I found out the same day you were born."
"I wasn't the man who gave you life."
"But from the moment I held you..."
"...I chose to be your father anyway."
Nicholas could barely stand.
"So who is my biological father?"
Daniel looked toward the dark window.
Toward the flashing lights outside.
His face turned pale.
"The only man powerful enough to destroy all of us."
Before he could say another word—
A sniper's bullet shattered the cabin window.
The glass exploded across the room.
Daniel shoved Nicholas to the floor.
The bullet struck Daniel squarely in the chest.
As Nicholas screamed and caught him—
Daniel used the last of his strength to whisper three devastating words.
"It's Richard's son..."
His hand fell limp.
And outside—
May you like
The front door exploded inward.
END OF PART 3
