Chapter 14 - The Man Buried Twice
Nathan felt the world tilt beneath his feet.
"My father..."
"No."
"He died eight years ago."
The Director accepted the forensic report.
"The fingerprints are genuine."
"No signs of forgery."
Nathan shook his head violently.
"I buried him."
Margaret looked at him with sympathy.
"Did you see his face?"
Nathan stopped.
The memory returned.
The funeral had been closed-casket.
His father's business partners had insisted the injuries were too severe.
Nathan had never questioned it.
His wife slowly realized the truth.
"You never saw the body."
Nathan stared silently into the rain.
He hadn't.
Not once.
The Director spoke.
"The control room coffee was still warm."
"The fingerprints are recent."
"If this report is correct..."
He paused.
"...someone pretending to be dead has been living beneath this estate."
An officer's radio suddenly crackled.
"Director!"
"We've found another entrance."
"Location?"
"The old chapel behind the cemetery."
Everyone hurried toward the abandoned stone chapel.
Its stained-glass windows had long since shattered.
Vines covered the walls.
Inside...
The altar had been moved aside.
Beneath it lay a steel staircase descending into darkness.
Nathan whispered,
"My father built this chapel."
Margaret answered quietly,
"No."
"He hid inside it."
The investigation team descended carefully.
Unlike the previous tunnels...
This one looked recently maintained.
Fresh electric lights illuminated the walls.
Someone had cleaned the floors.
Someone still lived here.
The passage ended before an enormous reinforced steel door.
Unlike the previous vault...
This door stood slightly open.
The Director pushed it wider.
The room beyond resembled a private apartment.
Bookshelves.
Leather furniture.
A fireplace.
Fresh food on the dining table.
A half-finished cup of tea.
Someone had left in a hurry.
Nathan walked slowly toward the fireplace.
A framed family photograph rested on the mantel.
His father.
His mother.
A little boy.
Nathan frowned.
"That's not me."
The boy smiled happily between them.
He looked about six years old.
Gray eyes.
The same scar beneath his ear.
The mysterious child from the surveillance screen.
Nathan felt cold.
"My father..."
"...raised him."
The Director opened a desk drawer.
Inside lay a leather journal.
Across the cover were embossed three words.
"If I Fail."
He opened the first page.
The handwriting belonged to Nathan's father.
May you like
"If anyone except my son is reading this..."
"...then the Guardian has broken his oath."
