04
I'd been working at the design firm for about a week when a call came in from a landline.
I picked up, and a hurried voice came through. "You're Leon Gilbert's son, right?"
"I am..."
"Your father had an accident down in the mine. He's trapped underground with a dozen or so miners. The odds of survival aren't good. He left a farewell letter before he went down. Come to the mine site, quick."
I don't know how I hung up the phone, and I don't know how I got to the mine site. When I arrived, the place was packed with people, wall to wall, the crying and the shouting never letting up.
The families of all those trapped miners must have come. My mother, Summer Fox, was already there too, held up by my brother, Duncan Gilbert. The whole site was in tears. Only the two of them looked like they were searching for something.
The moment Summer saw me, her expression changed, and she came striding toward me with Duncan.
"What letter did your father leave you? They said he left it only to you."
I hadn't even seen anyone from the mine yet. How was I supposed to know what my father had left me?
"I don't know."
"Liar. You two always had it in for me and my boy. Your father can't even write a farewell letter without shutting us out. And you call us family."
Summer flew into a rage. I didn't know how she'd found out about my father. Maybe the mine had notified both of us at once.
I wasn't in the mood to fight with her here. I found the man in charge of the site, told him who I was, and he handed me my father's letter.
"Writing a farewell letter before going down is standard procedure. We just never thought it would actually be needed this time."
Seeing my father's familiar handwriting, my eyes went wet for the first time. Before, maybe because I didn't know how bad it was, I'd stubbornly told myself he'd be fine. But standing there, seeing it all with my own eyes, I felt the helpless pull of a reality I couldn't refuse.
With trembling hands I opened the letter my father left me. 【Oliver, it's my fault. I put you through so much. Let me say this to you now: if something happens to me, the mine will pay compensation. You're the son who shares my blood, and the money will all be yours. Summer and Duncan won't get a cent of it.】
【I've known for a long time what they were plotting against you. I just never found a way to change it. I was away for years, and if I didn't go along with Summer, she'd have made life hard for you at home. It's your father who was useless.】
【If there's a next life, I'd still choose to be your father. That's all. Hold on tight to your own house. As for my old house, if Summer wants it, let her have it.】
Signed, Leon Gilbert. I stared at the letter, tears streaming down my face. I never knew how much his silent love had been carrying all this time.
The families couldn't accept that people who'd been fine were just gone like this.
The people from the mine were all urging the families to sign the consent forms to abandon the rescue.
Some signed. Some flatly refused. Before it was even our turn, Summer snatched a form and was about to sign, and my fogged head snapped clear.
I stepped forward and grabbed the form away. "You don't sign. The golden rescue window hasn't passed yet. There's still a chance he's alive."
Summer glared at me like she wanted to swallow me whole, teeth clenched, nails digging hard into my arm. "What do you know? The sooner you sign, the more compensation you get."
I could see it plainly, that face of hers that only wanted the money. I told her without the slightest hesitation, "I'll transfer the house you're living in over to you. Now leave. I'm going to save my father."
The words stunned Summer for a second. Then she smiled. She had me write the transfer agreement right there, and only then did she stop getting in the way of what I was about to do.
I got someone to contact the most experienced rescue team in the country right away. I felt my father still had a chance.
After three days of searching, the golden rescue window was almost up. The hope in front of me was shrinking by the hour, and everyone was telling me to give up.
I was still wavering when the good news came.
