“Kid, I thought you were someone important. Turns out you’re just a clown who popped out of nowhere.”
I clenched my fists, every muscle straining to hold back the fury.
I had hoped, just maybe, that there was some misunderstanding.
But now, my heart sank completely.
For six whole years, I had vanished from the world.
Trapped in a place so remote, even satellites couldn’t find it, buried in experiments day after day.
She had moved on. Maybe I should’ve expected that.
But before I left, she promised, she swore, she would take care of our daughter.
The daughter I remembered, once cheerful and full of life, now looked as frail as a withering flower.
That timid, fearful expression on her face pierced straight through my chest like a blade.
My heart ached just looking at her.
“Come on. I’m taking you home.”
With tears brimming in my eyes, I gently held her hand, ready to walk away from this place together.
Whatever I owed her over these six years, I would make it right.
Every moment I missed, I would give it back to her tenfold.
I wanted her to laugh again. To be the happiest little princess in the world.
But just then, a mocking voice rang out behind us.
“You hit me earlier and dared to threaten President Jones. Now you think you can just walk away?”
Tanner blocked my path with a cold, mocking sneer.
“What, trying to restrict my freedom now?” I narrowed my eyes as I asked.
“Freedom?” He burst into laughter. “You’re talking about freedom in the capital?”
“Kid, let me tell you something. Here, even the air you breathe belongs to the Jones family!”
His laughter grew wild and arrogant. My face darkened.
All these years, I had poured everything into serving the country from that hidden place.
To repay me, the higher-ups must’ve secretly supported Kylie.
But I never imagined that kind of support would raise them into such untouchable arrogance.
Just then, my daughter suddenly broke free from my grasp and dropped to her knees.
Her voice trembled as she begged, “Uncle Tanner, please let this uncle go. He doesn’t know you or Mom. That’s why he offended you. I’ll apologize to him, please.”
My tears broke free in an instant.
This was the daughter I had longed for day and night, the one whose photo I had clutched to my heart every night just to fall asleep.
Now, she was kneeling before those two beasts. How badly had I failed her over the past six years?