Chapter 4
Pause
Unmute
Remaining Time -10:55
Fullscreen
The message remained on my phone screen.
"Now that you know who your father was, find out who made him disappear."
I stood there staring at those words.
It was strange how a few sentences could change everything.
Just a few minutes earlier, I still believed that my biggest battle was proving that I hadn't cheated on a test.
Now I was discovering that my story was connected to something much bigger.
My father.
A hidden project.
Someone is trying to erase my name.
And someone who might have destroyed his life.
Gabriel...
Helena's voice brought me back.
I looked up.
Whoever sent this message knows everything.
She took the phone from my hand and looked at the number.
— It's a temporary number.
So the person doesn't want to be found.
Helena did not answer.
And that silence confirmed my thought.
She was scared too.
You all knew this could happen, didn't you?
I asked, looking at everyone.
Marcelo remained silent.
Larissa lowered her head.
The only person who responded was Helena.
We suspected as much.
Did they suspect anything?
My voice got louder.
So, while I was being accused in front of the whole room, you all knew something was wrong?
Helena accepted my reaction without trying to defend herself.
Perhaps because she knew I was right.
Gabriel, sometimes protecting someone means not telling them the whole truth right away.
I shook my head.
- No.
My response came quickly.
— Sometimes hiding the truth leaves a person alone.
Nobody said anything.
I picked up the envelope again and kept it with me.
For the first time in my life, I felt that that piece of paper was the only real link I had to my father.
I wanted to know who he was.
Not just the version my mother told.
It wasn't just the man who disappeared.
I wanted to meet the person who wrote those words.
After a few minutes, Marcelo asked to talk somewhere else.
We went to an old room at the end of the corridor.
It was a room I had never been in before.
The walls were covered in old files and boxes.
It seemed that place held memories that no one wanted to open.
"Why are we here?" I asked.
Marcelo looked at one of the bookshelves.
Because some things were never officially recorded.
Helena walked over to a dusty box.
She ran her hand over it and found an old label.
My name was written on it.
I felt a tightness in my chest.
How did this get here?
Marcelo took a deep breath.
Your father left this box before he disappeared.
I approached.
My hands were trembling.
— And why didn't anyone hand it over to me?
The director hesitated for a few seconds.
Because the order was to keep it hidden.
Those words made me stop.
— Whose orders?
Marcelo did not respond.
He simply looked at Helena.
And at that moment I realized that that question was the most difficult of all.
Helena opened the box slowly.
Inside there were several documents.
Old notes.
Designs.
Photos.
And a short recording.
She picked up the device carefully.
— Your father left this as a last resort.
My heart raced.
— Last attempt at what?
Helena placed the device on the table.
Before pressing the button, she said:
— To reveal the truth.
The sound started.
For a few seconds, there was only noise.
Then a voice appeared.
A male voice.
I had never heard of it before.
But the first instant I heard it, I felt something strange.
As if some part of me recognized that voice.
If you're hearing this, it means I couldn't stop it.
I stood motionless.
It was him.
My father.
My breath caught in my throat.
The voice continued:
Gabriel, I don't know how old you'll be when you find this recording. But I need you to know one thing.
There was a pause.
A heavy silence.
I never abandoned you.
My eyes started to burn.
For years I tried to pretend that absence didn't matter.
But it mattered.
Very.
The recording continued:
— I discovered that the project was being used by people who didn't want to help students. They wanted to control who would have access to opportunities.
Helena looked at me.
I kept listening.
— When I tried to reveal this, someone inside the school threatened me.
My hand gripped the edge of the table.
I found out that someone close to me was working for them.
The recording paused for a few seconds.
And then came the phrase that completely changed the course of that story:
Gabriel, if you've reached this message, it means that person is still close to you.
A silence fell over the room.
I looked at Larissa.
Then for Marcelo.
Then to Helena.
Because at that moment, everyone was a possibility.
The recording continued:
Don't just trust those who seem to be trying to save you.
The device made a noise.
Then one last sentence appeared.
A phrase that made my heart stop.
The person who betrayed me has known Gabriel since before he was born.
The recording has finished.
Nobody said anything.
I couldn't think.
Before birth.
How could anyone have known me before I existed?
That's when Larissa started crying again.
But this time she didn't try to hide it.
Gabriel...
I looked at her.
She seemed defeated.
I need to tell you the last part.
My body tensed up.
— What last part?
She took a deep breath.
And he replied:
The person your father was trying to expose...
She paused.
May you like
His eyes met mine.
— It was someone from his own family.
