Chapter 3: The Secret Inside the Hospital Record
Chapter 3: The Secret Inside the Hospital Record
Daniel's hands trembled as he unfolded the final document.
The café suddenly felt smaller.
The sound of rain outside faded into silence.
His mother sat frozen across from him.
Tears streamed down her face before he had even read a single word.
That frightened him more than anything.
Slowly, he looked down.
The document was an official hospital record dated thirty-two years earlier.
His birth date.
His name.
His mother's name.
Then his eyes landed on a line that made his stomach drop.
Father: Unknown
Daniel blinked.
Once.
Twice.
He looked again.
The words remained unchanged.
Unknown.
His heart pounded violently.
"What is this?"
His voice cracked.
His mother covered her mouth.
Daniel stared at her.
"What is this?"
The question came louder.
The people around them began turning to look.
His mother lowered her head.
"Daniel..."
"No."
He shook his head.
"No, explain it."
Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"The man who raised you..."
She struggled to continue.
"...is not your biological father."
Daniel felt as though the floor had vanished beneath him.
Everything stopped.
His breathing.
His thoughts.
His entire world.
For thirty-two years he had believed one thing.
One simple truth.
And now it was collapsing.
"What are you saying?"
His mother reached across the table.
He pulled away.
The gesture broke her heart.
"I never wanted you to find out like this."
"Then how?"
Daniel's eyes filled with tears.
"When exactly were you planning to tell me?"
She couldn't answer.
Because she knew there was no good answer.
The truth began spilling out.
Years before Daniel was born, his mother had been deeply in love with another man.
His name was Michael Carter.
A kind young musician who dreamed of traveling the world.
They planned to marry.
They planned to start a family.
They planned a future together.
But fate had other plans.
One rainy night, Michael was involved in a terrible car accident.
He died before reaching the hospital.
His mother discovered she was pregnant only three weeks later.
Pregnant with Daniel.
Alone.
Heartbroken.
Terrified.
At twenty-three years old, she didn't know what to do.
Then she met Robert Walker.
The man Daniel had always called Dad.
At first, Robert seemed caring.
Supportive.
Generous.
He promised to help raise the baby.
He promised to give them a stable life.
He promised to love Daniel as his own son.
And for a while, he did.
But over the years, everything changed.
Robert became controlling.
Possessive.
Manipulative.
He couldn't stand being reminded that Daniel wasn't his biological child.
Eventually his jealousy turned into resentment.
Then resentment turned into something much darker.
Daniel sat silently.
Every memory of his childhood suddenly felt different.
The arguments he had overheard.
The tension between his parents.
The strange way his father sometimes looked at him.
All of it made sense now.
Then a horrifying thought crossed his mind.
"Did he know?"
His mother nodded.
"From the beginning."
Daniel closed his eyes.
A tear slid down his cheek.
"And that's why he hated you?"
"No."
Her voice shook.
"That's why he hated losing control."
The café door suddenly opened.
A gust of cold air swept inside.
Neither noticed.
They were too consumed by the past.
Then Daniel's mother's face drained of color.
Her eyes widened.
She was staring at something behind him.
Or someone.
Daniel slowly turned around.
A man stood near the entrance.
Tall.
Gray-haired.
Wearing a black coat.
Watching them.
Watching them very carefully.
The moment their eyes met, the stranger walked away.
Fast.
Almost running.
Daniel immediately stood.
"Who was that?"
His mother's entire body trembled.
"No..."
She whispered.
"No, no, no..."
"Mom, who is he?"
She grabbed his wrist.
Hard.
Harder than he had ever felt before.
Fear filled her eyes.
The same fear he had seen earlier.
The fear of someone who had spent twenty years hiding.
"He found me."
Daniel froze.
"What?"
"He found me."
"Who found you?"
Her lips quivered.
Finally, she said the words.
"The man your father hired to make me disappear."
A cold wave shot through Daniel's body.
His heart nearly stopped.
Because suddenly he realized something terrifying.
His mother hadn't been hiding from the past.
The past had just found them again.
And somewhere out there, after twenty years of silence...
Someone was still trying to keep the truth buried.
Someone willing to do anything to stop it from coming out.
May you like
Including murder.
To Be Continued in Chapter 4...
