Page 62 of The Stepbrother 2: Noah

"But faking your death?” I could hardly believe it. Although I had heard my own father say some of the same things about the pressure of fame, this was on a whole other level.

He sighed. “It was the only way I wouldn’t actually kill myself.”

I nodded, starting to understand. “Alright, but... did you know about Noah? Tiffany told him you didn’t, but she lies.”

He winced at her name, like I’d struck him. “No. I would’ve never left my child with her. Tiffany was always more barracuda than woman. When I met her, I was drinking every day, smoking every morning. Living up to the whole ‘sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll’ stereotype. She was a PR rep for my first label, and she liked to party. She made me feel understood. I thought she was ‘the one,’ but then I found out she was a plant—reporting everything I said back to the label to help them control me. My own parents didn’t care; they just wanted the money I brought in.”

His jaw tightened as he continued. “I finally broke free, started my own label after selling nearly everything I owned. I had a few friends who trusted me enough to sign, and then more artists started coming. I was making money again, going to AA and NA, getting clean. Then the IRS showed up. I’d been trusting my father to handle the taxes, but he’d left me deep in debt. I had to cut ties with my parents, and I thought maybe Tiffany was different, maybe she actually cared about me.” He scoffed. “I was wrong.”

He looked down at his hands. “I spent three years with her. Built my company back up from nothing. But the pressure, the money, the drinking, it all came back. One day, I was standing on the beach, thinking about just walking into the ocean and letting it take me. That’s when the idea hit me—maybe I didn’t have to die. Maybe I could just... disappear.”

I listened, my mind racing. This man had faked his death to escape, leaving behind a son he didn’t even know existed. It was surreal, like something out of a twisted family drama.

He continued. “So I planned it. Set up a company beach day, made sure everyone saw me acting out of character. Then I made it look like an accident—a drowning. I walked into the ocean. No body to be found, but enough left behind to make it believable.”

I shook my head, still struggling to grasp it all. “And you never looked back?”

“Not at first,” he admitted. “But after a few years, I got curious. I looked up my old life and found out about Noah. I hired an investigator and found out everything. I saw that he was living with Scarlett and Troy. Saw he was actually thriving.”

He reached into a drawer and handed me a file. Inside were photos and documents, some going back more than a decade. Pictures of me, Jason, Maine, even my parents. He’d been watching us all from the shadows, knowing but never reaching out.

“I thought about coming back,” he said softly. “But by then, it felt like too much time had passed. I thought I’d only make things worse. So I kept my distance, watched him from afar.”

“So that was the excuse you used to just stay away?”

Neither of us had heard Noah come in, but he was standing in the doorway now, eyes stormy.

His father’s face went pale. “Noah... I’m sorry. I thought I was protecting you.”

"No. What you did was leave me alone with a conniving bit--," he started, but composed himself. “You protected yourself," Noahcountered. "You chose a life of hiding over facing your problems. And in doing so, you left me to face mine alone."

The air in the room grew heavy.

"I'm sorry, Noah," he said finally, his voice barely above a whisper. "I know that doesn't change the past, but I am. I've spent every day since I found out about you regretting my decision. I thought about going back every day, but then time slipped away too fast. So I lived in the shadows of your life, watching you grow and thrive.

“Did it hurt? Not being a part of it. Watching from afar?” Noah asked him.

His father's eyes were pools of sorrow. "Every single fucking day," he answered, his voice cracking with emotion. "It was agony, knowing you were out there without me. Even if it was unknowingly at first. Watching you from afar, seeing your life unfold without me... it was a constant reminder of the mistakes I made. What I was losing because I was a coward."

Noah nodded. "Part of me wanted to hate you for all of this. I spent so many years feeling like a burden to Troy and Scarlett. To my mother, I was only a pawn. I might have had something closer to a normal life with you present." Noah took a deep breath before continuing, "But I won’t dwell on what ifs. I’m tired of being angry and sad. I just lost a sister, but I also found a father. I don't know if we can ever have a normal father-son relationship. Too much has happened. But maybe we can start over from this moment. Because when I think about it, if I thought I could hurt my child or Creed in any way, I’d relegate myself to the shadows too."

Noah cocked his head to look at me. “Besides, we already have a family trying to piece itself back together. You came at the right time."

One tear after another trickled down Noah's father's cheek. “That would be great, starting over."

I let out a breath. I hadn’t expected this meeting to go so smoothly. I had imagined a nine-millimeter being thrown on the coffee table and Noah forcing his dad to explain himself at gunpoint.

They stood for a while, just staring at each other, maybe trying to find themselves in each other’s faces. Or maybe they just didn’t know what else to say.

I broke the awkward silence. “I know you told me to call you Wolfgang, but my parents would have a fit. Can I call you Daddy Wolf instead?”

He nodded.

I gushed, clapping my hands excitedly. “My momma is Scarlett Rose, my daddy Troy the hothead bad boy of rock. My god daddy was Lil Compton, and now my father-in-law is Wolfgang Engel. Zella is going to make money hand over fist when she takes over Compton Ave."

Noah's eyes softened at the mention of his daughter. “Zella, huh?”

“Yeah, you remember I told you we should name Zella something wild. My name has to do with having principles. Your name means peace. Neither one of us matches our name. We’re Chaos and crazy. Give Zella a wild name and she’ll be the opposite.”

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