Chapter 9 - The Father Who Vanished Twice
My father had been dead for seventeen years.
At least, that was what my mother told us.
His name was Robert Jenkins.
He worked as an accountant.
He loved baseball.
And he used to bring home strawberry ice cream whenever I passed an important test.
I remembered the day he disappeared.
My mother said he'd died in an accident while traveling for work.
There was a small funeral.
A photograph.
A closed coffin.
And a childhood that never felt the same afterward.
Now Daniel Whitmore was telling me Robert had been working inside Croft Capital.
I stared at the screen.
"That's impossible."
Daniel looked uncomfortable.
"I know how this sounds."
"No. You don't."
My voice broke.
"You don't know what it feels like to bury your father, then your brother, and discover both might still be alive."
Daniel lowered his eyes.
"I'm sorry."
I looked toward Arthur.
He was standing near the door.
His expression was unreadable.
"Did you know?" I asked.
He shook his head.
"No."
For once, I believed him.
Then Daniel continued.
"Robert was working with Ethan. They believed someone inside the financial network had been arranging deaths to silence witnesses."
I covered my mouth.
"My father let us think he was dead?"
Daniel hesitated.
"According to Ethan, Robert disappeared after receiving threats against your family."
I sat down slowly.
Another man.
Another secret.
Another decision made without asking the people who'd have to live with it.
Then my phone rang.
Unknown number.
I answered.
"Hello?"
A man's voice spoke.
"Khloe?"
My entire body went cold.
I knew that voice.
Older.
Rougher.
But unmistakable.
"Dad?"
A long silence.
Then he began crying.
"My little girl."
I covered my mouth.
For seventeen years, I'd imagined hearing those words again.
Now they were coming through my phone.
"Where are you?"
"I'm safe."
"That's not an answer!"
"I know."
My voice rose.
"Do you have any idea what Mom went through?"
He began crying harder.
"Every day."
"Then why didn't you come home?"
"Because the people behind Blackbird threatened all of you."
I closed my eyes.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
His voice softened.
"I know, sweetheart."
Then he took a breath.
"There's something you need to understand."
"What?"
"I didn't simply discover Croft's crimes."
My heart pounded.
"I helped create the original financial structures he used."
Silence.
Then Dad whispered:
"I was part of the problem before I tried to stop it."
I stared at the wall.
For the first time, the truth wasn't about an innocent man hiding from evil.
It was about a man who'd made terrible choices and spent years trying to repair them.
Then Dad said something that changed everything.
"Khloe, Richard Croft isn't the person who controls Blackbird."
I swallowed.
"Then who is?"
My father's voice trembled.
"Someone you've trusted for eighteen months."
I looked slowly toward Arthur Pendleton.
May you like
And my father whispered:
"Arthur knows who the real owner is."
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