"My Father's Dark Secret."

Chapter Six: The Threat It happened on a Thursday.I came back from school earlier than usual. The house was quiet — too quiet. My mother had taken Daniel to the clinic for a routine checkup. My father’s car was in the compound.That meant he was home.I went straight to my room, closed the door, and pulled out my phone. I don’t even know why I opened the screenshots again. Maybe I wanted to remind myself that I hadn’t imagined everything.Maybe I wanted courage.I didn’t hear my door open.I only felt it.That presence.When I looked up, he was standing there.My father.His eyes weren’t angry.They were sharp.“What are you hiding?” he asked.My heart slammed against my ribs. “Nothing.”He walked toward me slowly, extending his hand.“Give me the phone.”There was no shouting. No raised voice.That made it worse.I hesitated for half a second.He noticed.And then he inhaled.Slow. Deep. Controlled.The sound filled the room.“Give. Me. The phone.”My hands were shaking when I placed it in his palm.He scrolled.Once.Twice.And then he saw them.The screenshots.The messages.The evidence.For a brief moment, something flashed across his face — not guilt.Fear.But it disappeared quickly.He locked the phone and handed it back to me.Then he did something unexpected.He smiled.“So,” he said quietly, “you think you’re clever.”I couldn’t speak.“You went through my things.”“You lied to your mother.”“You spied on me.”Each accusation was calm. Precise.“You are becoming very dangerous,” he added.Dangerous.The word felt wrong. I wasn’t the one destroying our home.He stepped closer until I could feel his shadow over me.“If you tell your mother anything,” he said softly, “I will kill your baby brother.”The world stopped.I stared at him, waiting for him to laugh. To say it was a joke.He didn’t.Instead, he called out, “Daniel!”A few seconds later, my little brother ran into the room, smiling, holding his toy car.“Daddy!”My father bent down and carried him gently. Kissed his forehead.“Do you love Daddy?” he asked.“Yes!”He looked at me while holding Daniel in his arms.“Accidents happen every day,” he said calmly. “Children fall down stairs. They choke on food. They wander into the road.”My blood turned cold.“You wouldn’t,” I whispered.His breathing changed.Not angry.Deadly.“You don’t know what I would do to protect my name.”He set Daniel down gently.“Go to your room, son.”Daniel left happily, unaware that his life had just been used as leverage.My father leaned closer to me.“Delete everything,” he said. “And if I ever hear you speak about this again… you will bury your brother.”He walked out of the room like nothing had happened.I stood there, frozen.For the first time in my life, I understood something clearly:My father wasn’t just hiding sin.He was capable of anything to protect his image.And now I wasn’t just holding a secret.I was trapped inside it.Now the stakes are real.

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