Chapter 1 - The Genius in Disguise
My heart pounded heavily in my chest as Professor Vance stared at my stepfather.
The entire university committee went completely silent.
Before Hector could even speak a word, the distinguished professor did the unthinkable.
Professor Vance slowly fell to his knees right in front of the dusty construction worker.
He grabbed my stepfather’s calloused hands with tears streaming down his face.
"Dr. Hector Alvarez, the world thought you were dead," the professor whispered in awe.
A collective gasp echoed through the large defense hall.
I stood frozen at the podium, completely unable to process what was happening.
My stepfather, the man who smelled of cement and sweat for twenty-five years, was being called a doctor.
Hector gently pulled his worn hands away and looked at the ground.
"You have the wrong man, sir," Hector said in his usual quiet, gravelly voice.
He tipped his old hat down and tried to walk toward the exit door.
Professor Vance immediately stood up and blocked his path.
"I could never forget the man who designed the Metro City bridge and saved my life," Vance declared loudly.
My mind started spinning out of control.
I had grown up in a poor town believing my stepfather was just an uneducated laborer.
He sold his only motorbike just to pay for my undergraduate textbooks.
He spent his evenings silently fixing my broken shoes so I would not look poor at school.
"Dad, what is he talking about?" I asked, stepping away from my thesis presentation.
Hector finally looked up at me, his eyes filled with a deep, sorrowful panic.
"We need to leave this place right now, Julian," Hector urged desperately.
He grabbed my arm with a strength I had never felt before.
But before we could even reach the heavy wooden doors of the auditorium, they burst open.
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Ten heavily armed federal agents stormed into the academic hall with their weapons drawn.
"Hector Alvarez, you are under arrest for corporate espionage and mass murder," the lead agent shouted.
