The Name He Still Remembered
Chapter 06 - The Name He Still Remembered
Julian did not touch his father immediately.
He wanted to.
Every lost birthday, funeral night, board meeting, and unanswered question moved through him like a command to close the distance. But Thomas watched the crowd with the terror of a man whose reality had been rewritten by strangers.
Emma stood beside Julian.
Nurse Claire removed the restraints and explained each movement before making it. An agent stepped back. The transport medic was taken away.
Julian lowered himself until his face was level with Thomas’s.
“My name is Julian.”
Thomas looked at the compass piece in his palm.
“Julian died.”
The words nearly broke him.
“No.”
Thomas shook his head. “House fire. Victoria said.”
Julian pulled a childhood photograph from the black folder. Thomas and Julian stood beside a boat, both covered in grease, the compass ring visible on Thomas’s hand.
“I’m your son.”
Thomas studied the photograph.
His fingers moved to the scar above Julian’s eyebrow, a mark from falling off that same boat.
“You cried because the fish saw you fall,” Thomas whispered.
Julian laughed through tears.
“I was twelve.”
“You blamed the dock.”
“I still think the dock moved.”
Thomas’s face collapsed.
He reached forward with one trembling hand.
Julian leaned into it.
The first touch was uncertain. Then Thomas gripped the back of his neck and pulled him closer. Julian wrapped both arms around his father, careful of the healing injuries, and felt fifteen years of rage become grief.
Emma turned away to give them privacy.
Thomas saw her.
“Who?”
“My wife,” Julian said. “Emma found you.”
Thomas looked at her with immediate concern.
“Victoria knows?”
“Yes.”
“Then she is in danger.”
The fear in his voice was clear, remembered, and rational.
Federal agents moved Thomas into protective medical custody. Nurse Claire traveled with him. The clinic’s records were seized. The director attempted to delete files, but an automated backup transmitted them to Marcus.
Before leaving, Thomas caught Julian’s sleeve.
“Richard caused the fire.”
“The crash?”
Thomas shook his head.
“Not only the car.”
His eyes closed with exhaustion.
“Blue Harbor. Your mother burned the records.”
Julian looked at Emma.
The company’s original trust had not disappeared in the crash.
May you like
Victoria and Richard had destroyed evidence afterward.
Thomas had survived long enough to know.
