Chapter 11 - THE TWO MEN THE WORLD FORGOT
My father was alive.
Daniel Reed was alive.
Two men I'd believed were gone forever.
And both were hiding in northern Wisconsin.
I wanted to drive there immediately.
Detective Mitchell stopped me.
“We need to make sure it's safe.”
I hated waiting.
But I understood.
Marcus Vale was still being investigated.
Derek and Diane were under increasing scrutiny.
And someone had already threatened my family.
Police coordinated with local authorities.
By the next morning, investigators had located a small cabin near a wooded lake.
Inside were two men.
One in his late fifties.
The other in his early thirties.
Both frightened.
Both alive.
When Detective Mitchell called, I could barely speak.
“Can I see them?”
“They've agreed to meet in a secure location.”
Ryan held me while I cried.
A few hours later, we entered a private room at a police facility.
My father stood beside the window.
He looked older.
His hair was gray.
His shoulders had narrowed.
But the moment he turned, I recognized his eyes.
“Evie?”
My breath stopped.
“Dad?”
He started crying.
I ran into his arms.
For sixteen years, I'd believed he'd abandoned me.
Now I held him as tightly as I could.
“My little girl,” he whispered.
I couldn't stop crying.
“Why didn't you come home?”
He held my face between his hands.
“I tried.”
His voice broke.
“They threatened your mother. They threatened you. I thought staying away would protect you.”
I shook my head.
“You should have told me.”
“I know.”
He began crying harder.
“I was wrong.”
For a long moment, we simply held each other.
Then another man approached.
Daniel Reed.
Samantha's brother.
He looked thinner than I remembered.
But his smile was the same.
“Evelyn.”
I turned toward him.
“Daniel.”
He hugged me.
“I knew you'd find the truth someday.”
I wiped my eyes.
“How did you survive?”
Daniel sat down.
“They kept me isolated for months after I found out what happened to Samantha. I escaped during a transfer.”
My stomach tightened.
“And Dad helped you?”
He nodded.
“Thomas found me after I reached a community shelter. He'd been collecting evidence against Marcus for years.”
I looked at my father.
“You protected him?”
Dad nodded.
“He was trying to finish what his sister started.”
Tears filled my eyes.
Samantha.
Even after death, she was bringing people together.
Then Daniel reached into his jacket.
He removed a sealed envelope.
“I kept something for you.”
My heart raced.
“What?”
He handed it to me.
On the front, in Samantha's handwriting, were three words.
For my champion.
I opened it.
Inside was a letter.
And one final photograph.
Samantha standing beside Derek Walsh.
Both smiling.
I stared.
Daniel looked at me.
May you like
Then whispered:
“Evelyn, Derek wasn't just involved in Samantha's death. He was secretly dating her.”
