The Recall Trials-Chapter 109: Come Home, Vincent

He looked older than I remembered—more lines around his eyes, deeper grooves beside his mouth. His hair was grayer, but those sharp features were exactly the same.

Eyes pale and cold.

He wore a suit jacket, stained at the cuffs. His tie was loose, hanging off his neck.

He stared at me like he was seeing a ghost.

And for a second...so was I.

He wasn’t supposed to be here.

He couldn’t be.

"What do you want?" I asked, voice shaking.

I didn’t step forward. I didn’t trust it.

Not him. Not this place.

Not what this place made you see.

But he just stood there.

Not smiling. Not cruel. Just... staring.

Like he’d been walking through the dark just as long as I had.

My throat felt tight as I stared at him.

"What do you want?" I demanded again.

I didn’t care if it was real or fake.

If the Aetherions had put him here or summoned a hallucination from my trauma.

If this was my trial, then I wanted to know what the hell they wanted from me.

From him.

My dad tilted his head. His dark eyes glinted in the flickering tunnel lights.

"Oh, Vincent..." he said, voice rough but carrying that same mocking softness he’d used all my life. "You haven’t seen your pops in, what... three months? And the first thing you ask me is what I want?"

I blinked. "Three months?"

He nodded, easing his weight onto one foot like he had all the time in the world. "Yeah. Three months."

"That’s... that’s not right," I said, my pulse thundering in my ears. "I’ve only been in here for a month. A month, tops."

My dad barked a short laugh. "You sure about that?"

He wandered over to a chunk of broken pavement jutting from the tunnel floor and sat down, elbows resting on his knees.

"Ohhh... you didn’t know, huh?" he said, leaning forward. "Time’s slower in here, son. All the lights. All the mind games. All the adrenaline. It feels like a few weeks. But out there..." He waved vaguely toward the darkness. "It’s been over three months."

My lips parted. I tried to count the days in my head. The Trials. The games. The endless nights.

Three months.

Three goddamn months?

I felt dizzy.

He clucked his tongue. "And you’ve got about ten days left for this... what do they call it... The Recall Trials. Ten days, kid. Who do you think’s gonna win it all? Who’s taking that money, huh?"

I stared at him like he’d grown another head.

"What the fuck?" I exploded. "Do you seriously think I give a shit about any money right now?"

He just raised his eyebrows, calm as ever.

"I don’t care about any shitty prize," I said, voice shaking with rage. "I only care about how Zaara, me, Nomi—and my baby—are going to make it out of here alive."

At that, his face actually changed. His eyebrows shot up, eyes sharpening.

"Baby?" he repeated, almost gently. "You’re having a baby?"

I swallowed hard, chest heaving. "Yes. I’m going to be a dad."

He blinked slowly. His face softened for the briefest second—then twisted into something unreadable.

"And I’ll be a better father than you ever fucking were!" I shouted.

My voice cracked off the tunnel walls, echoing into the endless dark.

My dad just stared at me. Silent.

And for a single breath, I thought I saw something like regret flicker across his face.

I really couldn’t tell if this was my real father... or the Aetherions wearing his face.

My dad stared at me in silence for a moment... then suddenly burst into laughter.

A deep, rasping laugh that echoed in the tunnel, bouncing off the stone walls like mockery.

"Oh my God," he wheezed between breaths. "You really think you’re gonna be a better dad?"

My chest heaved. "Yeah. I do."

But he only shook his head, still laughing bitterly. "Have you forgotten everything, Vincent? Everything you’ve done?"

His voice dropped, turning cold as steel.

"You’re a murderer. You killed your mother. You killed other contestants in these Trials. And let’s not pretend—you literally killed Jojo and Carter."

"Shut up!" I shouted, voice cracking. "I didn’t kill Carter! He sacrificed—"

My dad’s snarl cut me off.

"Sacrificed?" He barked out another mirthless laugh. "He sacrificed his own life for you?" He leaned forward, eyes glinting. "Listen to how stupid that sounds. Do you even deserve to be someone they’d give their life for?"

My pulse pounded so hard I thought I’d pass out.

He tilted his head, voice lowering like he was delivering a secret.

"And let’s talk about something else, Vincent," he said. "You were so goddamn stupid to leave the Aetherions."

I blinked, my throat closing up. "What...?"

He spread his hands. "Do you know how many people would sell their souls to be chosen by them? To be part of that? The Aetherions are a group of the most powerful people you’ll ever know. You had your chance. And you threw it away."

He let out a sigh, shaking his head in disbelief.

"And what’s even funnier... is thinking you won’t be the one to kill your precious Zaara and Nomi before this is all over."

My heart lurched, a fist of cold fear squeezing my chest. "Shut up," I rasped.

He leaned closer, eyes locked on mine.

"The best thing you can do now... is come with me. Right now. We’ll slip out. Quiet. Clean."

He pointed back into the darkness behind him.

"Leave the game. Leave them. Before you destroy everything. Because believe me, Vincent—this place is going to chew you up and spit you out. And I’m not sticking around to watch my son lose everything. Not again."

My breath sawed in and out.

I stared at the shadows behind him.

Could he really be offering me a way out?

My father’s voice dropped to a soft, almost gentle murmur.

"Come with me, Vincent. Come home."

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