Chapter 3 - The Ultimate Sacrifice
We sat in the dim light of the kitchen while Dr. Evans kept a close watch on a sleeping Grace.
Arthur folded his hands over his cane, looking older and more fragile than he had in the garden.
"Ten years ago, my transportation company was facing a hostile takeover by some very dangerous corporate rivals," Arthur began.
"Your father was my chief financial officer, and my most trusted friend."
"They tried to frame me for massive fraud to force me out of the company and send me to federal prison."
Arthur closed his eyes, a tear escaping and tracing a line down his wrinkled cheek.
"Your father knew they had rigged the evidence perfectly."
"To protect me, and to protect my family, Thomas altered the documents to make it look like he was the sole mastermind."
"He took the fall for me."
My mind spun as I tried to process the magnitude of what this stranger was saying.
"He went to prison?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"No," Arthur said heavily.
"Before the trial could even begin, the men who orchestrated the fraud realized Thomas knew too much."
"Your parents' car crash wasn't an accident, Caleb."
"The brake lines were completely severed."
I felt all the air leave the room in a single, devastating rush.
Annie started to cry quietly, burying her face into my shoulder.
"I spent millions trying to track you three down after it happened, but Grace was smart," Arthur explained.
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"She knew the system would separate you, so she changed your last names and hid you away from the world."
"When you knocked on my gate today, I thought I was seeing a ghost."
