When my wife was gone, i inherited the old beach cabin, while my son received the villa in italy. he looked at the papers and said, “you can go live in that forgotten place by the water.” then he told me to leave like everything valuable already belonged to him. i drove to the cabin just to find somewhere quiet to breathe. but when i opened the door, i stopped in the entryway. the cabin was not empty at all. my wife had left one letter, one deed, and a secret my son was never supposed to find. The attorney’s office was too quiet after my son laughed.

Bradley stepped fully into the library, shutting the heavy wooden doors behind him with a soft click.

He looked perfectly calm, almost bored, as if finding his father breaking into his house was just a minor inconvenience.

"Put the book on the desk, Dad," he ordered, gesturing with the barrel of the gun.

I clutched the ledger tighter, staring at the stranger wearing my son's face.

"You are really going to shoot your own father over a construction contract?" I asked, my voice shaking with disgust.

Bradley laughed, a short, sharp sound completely devoid of any real humor.

"It is not just a contract, old man," he sneered, taking a step closer.

"It is my entire legacy, my entire life's work, and I will not let a bleeding-heart mother and a washed-up engineer ruin it."

"Your legacy is built on dead bodies," I shot back, the anger finally overriding my fear.

"You killed four people when that bridge collapsed, and you crippled Carol for life."

Bradley rolled his eyes, resting his free hand on his hip.

"Collateral damage is a part of progress, Dad, something you were always too weak to understand."

He cocked the hammer of the pistol, the metallic click echoing loudly in the quiet room.

"Now, put the book on the desk, or I swear I will end this right here."

I slowly walked over to the mahogany desk, placing the leather-bound ledger down on the polished wood.

Bradley smirked, stepping forward to grab the book that contained his ruin.

But as he reached out, his eyes shifted past my shoulder toward the large bay window.

"Who the hell is that?" he muttered, distracted for just a fraction of a second.

I didn't turn to look.

I knew Carol had ignored my instructions and dragged herself out of the bushes to check on me.

Using his momentary distraction, I grabbed the heavy brass paperweight from the desk and hurled it directly at his face.

The brass block caught him squarely in the jaw, sending him stumbling backward with a shout of pain.

The gun went off, the bullet shattering the glass of the display cabinet behind me.

I lunged forward, grabbing the ledger from the desk and shoving Bradley violently against the wall.

He gasped for air, dropping the gun as he clutched his bleeding face.

I didn't hesitate.

I sprinted out of the library, flying down the hallway and bursting through the front door into the morning light.

"Carol, run!" I screamed, seeing her standing near the edge of the driveway.

She didn't need to be told twice.

She swung furiously on her crutches, heading straight for the idling, expensive sedan Bradley had left in the driveway.

The keys were sitting right on the driver's seat.

I threw her into the passenger side, diving into the driver's seat and throwing the car into gear.

Bradley burst out of the front door, his face covered in blood, screaming in pure rage.

He raised the pistol, firing wildly at the car as I slammed my foot on the gas pedal.

The rear window shattered, spraying glass across the backseat, but we were already speeding down the street.

"Are you hit?" I yelled, swerving violently around a garbage truck.

"I'm okay!" Carol shouted back, clutching her head.

I looked in the rearview mirror, expecting to see empty streets.

“Which daughter is yours?” should have been a harmless question

The first wineglass shattered at 8:07 p.m

The moment the mafia boss’s wife called me “an illiterate servant,”

Instead, a massive black tactical truck roared out of a side street, smashing through a fence to get right behind us.

Bradley had called his security team, and they were heavily armed.

Chapter 8 - The Sins of the Son