Nathan's jaw clenched. He had expected his father to react with hope, maybe even joy, at the possibility of finding his daughter after all these years. But instead, Oliver was defensive. Dismissive. Cold.
It was as if he didn't want to find Raya, as if she were trouble.
"Why are you so resistant?" Nathan demanded, his voice rising. "Why don't you want to find out the truth? Don't you want Raya to come back?"
"That's enough!" Oliver shot to his feet, his voice thundering through the hall. "You sound just like your sick mother. That woman is not Raya."
Nathan didn't back down. "Then explain it. Why are you so sure?"
Oliver's face twisted as he yelled, "Because Raya is already dead."
The words crashed into the room like a wave, slamming the air out of it.
Silence fell.
Nathan took a step back, his face frozen in shock. "What…?"
His chest tightened, pain twisting in his gut. He could barely process what he had just heard. Everything in him screamed that something wasn't right.
