Chapter 5
— It was someone from his own family.
Larissa's words hung in the air.
I felt like that room had become smaller.
As if the walls were closing in.
My family.
For a few seconds, I tried to find a logical explanation.
My mom?
Any distant relatives?
Someone I didn't even know?
But the truth was that I didn't have many people in my life.
My mother always worked very hard.
My relatives almost never showed up.
My childhood had consisted only of me, her, and the absence of a man I believed had chosen to leave.
— Larissa... — my voice came out weak. — Who?
She didn't answer.
And that made me even more desperate.
Who did this to my father?
She looked at me with tears in her eyes.
I don't know if I can say.
I took a step back.
Not because I was afraid of her.
But because I was tired of everyone holding onto pieces of my own story.
You all know something.
My voice started to crack.
— You all have a piece of the truth, except me.
Helena approached.
Gabriel...
- No.
I interrupted.
— I spent years believing that my father simply left. My mother suffered alone. I grew up thinking I needed to accept things as they were.
I looked at the recording on the table.
— And now I find out that someone ruined his life and everyone decided to hide it from me.
No one answered.
Because no one could deny it.
After a few seconds, Marcelo took a deep breath.
Perhaps you need to talk to your mother.
That phrase struck me.
My mom.
The only person who has always been there for me.
The person who taught me to keep going even when everything seemed difficult.
But now a doubt began to grow within me.
Did she know?
And if he knew...
Why did you never tell me?
I left that room without waiting for anyone.
I needed to breathe.
The hallway was empty.
The same corridors where I had walked for years seemed different.
Each door.
Each room.
Every corner of that school seemed to hide a part of my life.
When I got to the gate, my cell phone vibrated again.
I thought it was just another message from that unknown number.
But it wasn't.
It was my mother.
She was calling me.
For a few seconds, I stared at the screen.
I didn't know if I wanted to hear his voice.
Because a part of me was afraid of the answer.
But I answered.
- Son?
Her voice sounded tired.
Like always.
- Mother...
I remained silent.
She realized.
- What happened?
I closed my eyes.
Did you know my father?
Nothing happened on the other end of the line.
No questions.
No surprise there.
Just silence.
And sometimes silence reveals more than any answer.
Gabriel...
Her voice changed.
Who told you that?
My heart ached.
Because that wasn't the response of someone who knew nothing.
So you knew.
She took a deep breath.
I wanted to protect you.
That sentence hurt more than I expected.
Protect me from what?
More silence.
Then she said:
— About a truth that could destroy everything you believe in.
I felt my eyes welling up.
My whole life I thought he had abandoned us.
Her voice trembled.
He never abandoned you.
I stood still in the middle of the sidewalk.
The street activity continued around me.
People walking.
Cars passing by.
But it seemed as if the world had stopped.
So why did he disappear?
My mother took a while to reply.
And when she answered, her voice was different.
Lower.
Even sadder.
Because he discovered who was trying to destroy his work.
I gripped the phone tightly.
- Who?
She didn't answer.
Mom, I need to know.
Just a few more seconds.
Then she said:
Gabriel, you need to understand one thing.
- What?
Your father didn't disappear because he lost a fight.
She took a deep breath.
He disappeared because he was too close to proving the truth.
My heart raced.
— And who was this person?
My mother started to cry.
I had never heard my mother cry like that before.
I promised I would never speak.
— For whom?
The answer came almost in a whisper.
— For the man who raised you after your father disappeared.
I was confused.
- What do you mean?
She took a long time.
And then he said something that made my whole body go cold.
Gabriel... the man you always called uncle wasn't just a friend of your father's.
My breath stopped.
— He was his brother.
I couldn't answer.
My uncle.
The person who appeared occasionally during my childhood.
The person my mother always said had helped our family.
The person whom everyone considered trustworthy.
My mother continued:
His father found out that he was involved in the project.
The street seemed to disappear.
- No...
My voice came out low.
I didn't want to believe it.
It can't be.
But my mother wasn't finished yet.
Gabriel, there's something you never knew.
I closed my eyes.
- What?
She replied:
The project your father created wasn't stolen after he disappeared.
A pause.
It was handed over to a family member even before he disappeared.
My heart raced.
- Who?
My mother started crying again.
And before she could answer, I heard a voice in the background.
A male voice.
A voice I didn't recognize.
My mother immediately fell silent.
- Mother?
No response.
Who's there?
The connection remained open.
Then I heard the man's voice say:
You shouldn't have told him that.
My blood ran cold.
My mother tried to say something.
But the call was ended.
I just stared at my phone, unable to move.
Because at that moment I realized something.
The person who had been hiding the truth all those years...
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I wasn't just observing my life.
She was still near my mother.
