Chapter 23 - THE STRANGER IN THE BLACK SEDAN
The driver’s side door opened, and an elderly man in a dark tailored suit stepped out into the night air.
He walked with the aid of a silver-topped cane, his posture straight and authoritative despite his advanced age.
He had short silver hair, sharp grey eyes, and a small military medal lapel pin on his dark jacket.
Ethan stepped off the porch steps, keeping his hand near the concealed firearm holstered at his waist.
"Ethan... you have your mother's stubborn eyes," the old man spoke, his voice deep, gravelly, and full of authority.
Ethan froze in his tracks, staring at the stranger’s face as a memory from thirty years ago resurfaced.
"Dad?" Ethan whispered, his voice barely audible against the whispering pine trees.
The old man stopped five feet away, leaning on his silver cane as he looked at his son with a mixture of pride and regret.
"I had to stay dead, Ethan... it was the only way to keep you and Lily alive for thirty years," his father revealed.
"You let me believe you died in a fire when I was ten years old!" Ethan shouted, his rage finally boiling over.
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"If I had stayed, the syndicate would have eliminated us all before you ever reached high school," his father countered calmly.
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