Writers 
The Message I Was Never Supposed to Read — Part 5
“My father?”
The words barely came out of my mouth.
Amara nodded slowly.
“But that’s impossible. My father died before my mother.”
“I know what you were told.”
I stared at the photograph again.
The man standing behind my mother was wearing the exact same watch I remembered from the few photographs I had of my father.
My hands began to shake.
“Then why did everyone tell me he was dead?”
Amara looked away.
“Because your mother wanted it that way.”
I frowned.
“Why?”
“Because she was trying to protect you.”
I looked down at the flash drive inside the metal box.
“What’s on this?”
“I don’t know.”
“You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
“Then let’s find out.”
I grabbed my laptop from my bag and connected the flash drive.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Then a folder appeared on the screen.
FOR MY DAUGHTER.
My heart began beating faster.
Inside were three files.
The first was a video.
I clicked it.
The screen went black for a few seconds.
Then my mother’s face appeared.
I hadn’t seen her face move like that in years.
She looked tired.
Frightened.
But alive.
“If you’re watching this,” she said, “then something happened that I prayed would never happen.”
I stopped breathing.
She looked directly into the camera.
“There are things about your father that I couldn’t tell you while I was alive. And there are things about your own family that you may never have suspected.”
I glanced at Amara.
She was staring at the screen.
My mother’s voice continued.
“I need you to understand something. Your father didn’t abandon us.”
I leaned closer.
“I made him disappear.”
My eyes widened.
“Why?” I whispered.
My mother paused.
“Because I discovered what he had done.”
The video suddenly froze.
I tapped the screen.
Nothing.
Then it continued.
“He wasn’t the person I thought he was. And when I discovered the truth, I realized that keeping you away from him was the only way I could protect you.”
My heart sank.
“What did he do?”
My mother looked toward something outside the camera.
Then she whispered:
“If he ever comes looking for you, don’t trust him.”
The video ended.
I sat completely still.
Amara finally spoke.
“Now you understand why I was afraid.”
“No,” I replied. “I understand even less.”
I opened the second file.
It contained a list of names.
At the top was my father’s name.
Below it were several other names.
Some were unfamiliar.
Then I saw one that made my stomach drop.
Daniel.
I turned toward Amara.
“Why is Daniel’s name here?”
She shook her head.
“I don’t know.”
“You keep saying that.”
“I swear I didn’t know about this.”
I scrolled further down the list.
Beside each name were dates and amounts of money.
It looked like a record of payments.
My father’s name appeared repeatedly.
So did Daniel’s.
Then I noticed something else.
There was a date beside Daniel’s name.
The night my mother died.
I looked at Amara.
“You said you were there that night.”
She slowly nodded.
“Did Daniel know my mother?”
“Yes.”
“How well?”
She hesitated.
“Better than I ever told you.”
Before I could ask another question, the laptop screen suddenly went black.
The flash drive disappeared from the computer.
I tried opening the folder again.
Nothing.
Someone had remotely deleted everything.
My phone buzzed.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
“You weren’t supposed to see that.”
Another message appeared.
“Leave the house.”
I looked at Amara.
“What do we do?”
She didn’t answer.
Instead, she walked toward the window.
I followed her.
A black car had stopped outside.
The driver’s door opened.
A man stepped out.
I couldn’t see his face clearly.
But I could see his wrist.
A familiar watch.
The same watch from the photograph.
My heart stopped.
“No…”
Amara turned toward me.
“Don’t.”
“That’s him.”
She grabbed my hand.
“We need to go.”
I couldn’t take my eyes off the man.
“My father.”
He walked toward the front door.
Every step made my heart beat faster.
For years, I had believed he was dead.
I had mourned him.
I had grown up believing I would never see him again.
And now he was standing outside my house.
Alive.
Then my phone vibrated one more time.
I looked down.
There was a new message from the unknown number.
“Now you finally know who you should be afraid of.”
I looked back through the window.
The man was standing at the front door.
His hand slowly reached for the handle.
Then I noticed something that made my blood run cold.
He wasn’t alone.
Someone was sitting in the back seat of the car.
Someone I recognized.
Someone who was supposed to be on my side.
I turned to Amara.
“Who is in that car?”
She didn’t answer.
Her eyes filled with fear.
Then she whispered:
“Daniel.”
To be continued… 👀🔥
