Unveiled: The Survivor's Triumph

The box had an old cassette tape inside. Nobody knew it held a massive secret.

I had accidentally recorded something on it two years ago. Back then, rumors about Victor and Linda were flying around. Cindy had finally had enough and confronted Victor for the first time, leading to their first big fight over it. That day, I was chilling in my room, and even through the door, I could hear them going at it. I didn't step in; I just heard Victor storm out, slamming the door, and Cindy crying for what felt like forever.

Victor denied everything when Cindy called him out. To help Cindy get some proof, I decided to do something sneaky. It was a Saturday. I sneaked into the stone factory and, while Victor was out, I hid a tape recorder under his bed. As I was slipping out, I saw Victor coming back with Linda. They both went into his room together.

The next day, I managed to retrieve the tape recorder. The stuff on it wasn't what I was looking for, but it was enough to shock me. I had heard about the accident at the stone factory, but I never thought Victor was involved because he seemed so unfazed. But the truth was brutal.

I always thought Victor was unreliable, but I never imagined he could be so malicious. He destroyed Emily's family, and every time I saw her, I felt a wave of guilt and remorse.

Now, his coldness towards Cindy and me had left me truly disappointed. Standing by the window, staring into the night, I felt completely lost.

The next day was Saturday, and I went to Martin's place to get medicine for Cindy. Martin knew all about Cindy's health and always prescribed her medication. I didn't dare tell him that Cindy had vomited blood the day before; I didn't want to worry him.

Martin, with his glasses on, was seriously writing the prescription. I thought for a moment and said, "Grandpa, I read a story in a book today."

Without looking up, Martin smiled and asked, "What story?"

So, I gave him the gist of it. After finishing the prescription, Martin put down his pen and smiled, saying, "That's a story about sacrificing family for justice."

I knew Martin loved to read, so he definitely knew the story.

I asked, "Grandpa, do people like that really exist in real life?"

Martin kept writing and said, "It's not something an ordinary person can do."

When Martin handed me the prescription, there was an extra one.

He said, "This is for your dad's migraine."

I felt a mix of emotions as I held the prescription and looked at Martin.novelbin

"Grandpa, you still care about him."

Martin sighed and said, "No matter how much of a scoundrel he is, he's still my son."

So, no matter how much of a scoundrel he was, Victor was still my father. The blood relationship between us was an unchangeable fact.

I asked, "Grandpa, I have a classmate whose relative is addicted to drugs. How can they quit?"

Martin replied seriously, "Drugs are something you should never touch. Once you're addicted, it's very hard to quit. It requires a very strong willpower."

I thought to myself, 'Does Dad have the willpower to quit using drugs? If he had strong willpower, he wouldn't have betrayed Cindy. If he doesn't have strong willpower, then I'll have to use external force.'

In the fall, several schools organized a joint autumn outing, including a hiking activity. I looked around the Sunshine Elementary School group but didn't see Emily. However, I did see someone else.

The boy Richard, who often hung out with Victor and Linda. With so many people, the vastness of the mountain, and the complex terrain, the teachers couldn't keep an eye on everyone. So, the teachers had us middle school students pair up with the elementary school kids.

Under my direction, a few boys led Richard into a cave. The cave was on a cliff, tough to climb up and even harder to climb down, requiring mutual assistance. The cave was deep and dark.

Under the guise of an adventure, we all went into the cave. Once Richard was deep inside, the others quietly slipped out, leaving Richard alone in the cave.

Richard was probably in fourth grade, a bit mischievous, but still young. Being alone in a pitch-black cave would surely scare him. I felt a bit bad at that moment, but there was also a slight sense of satisfaction in my heart.

Later, everyone gathered, and the teacher counted the students, but Richard was still missing. They found Benjamin, who was our middle school teacher, and that was when I learned that Benjamin was Richard's father.

I went to the same school as Benjamin, and over the past couple of years, I had formed a certain impression of him. He was considered a good teacher. Seeing his anxious expression made me uneasy, but I still didn't step forward to reveal the truth.

They even notified Richard's mom, Linda, who came crying.

When Linda saw me among the students, she seemed to recognize me. Her suspicious look suggested she already knew I was behind this.

Later, everyone went up the mountain to search and found Richard in the cave. Richard's eyes were swollen from crying, and even after being found, he kept sobbing.

Richard didn't know I was the one who did this, and no one pursued the matter further after he was found. But I already regretted doing such a bad thing.

After all, Richard was innocent. I shouldn't take my anger out on him.

That night, when I got home, I was surprised to find Victor sitting there. In recent years, Victor didn't come home or came home very late. It was rare for him to be back this early.

Seeing his grim expression, I was about to head to my room with my backpack. But he called me over, and when I approached, he slapped me hard. I figured he must have found out about what happened today. Knowing I was in the wrong, I didn't resist and took the slap.

Cindy wasn't home; she had gone grocery shopping. So there was no one to intervene when Victor decided to discipline me. But even if Cindy were home, she wouldn't have been able to stop him.

Victor pointed at my forehead and asked if I was responsible for what happened during the autumn outing.

He came back to scold his own son for the sake of Linda's child. My heart turned cold as I looked at Victor.

My defiant attitude must have angered Victor, as he raised his hand to hit me again. I didn't dodge and calmly said, "Don't think that no one knows about the things you've done. If you don't want people to find out, don't do them. If you don't quit using drugs, I guarantee that things like today will keep happening. One day, he might disappear and never be found again."

"You!" Victor was furious and started looking for something, clearly intending to give me a good beating.

"Unless you beat me to death," I said.

In the end, Victor didn't hit me again. Although he hated me and was angry with me, he did make some changes after this incident.

He started coming home more often, sometimes even asking about my studies and showing concern for Cindy's health. I didn't know if he had genuinely changed his mind or if he was just afraid I would bully Richard again. Whatever the reason, his willingness to change made me feel somewhat comforted.

For a long time, I didn't go to see Emily. Not seeing her allowed me to selectively forget. Seeing her would remind me of the terrible things Victor had done, and the rift between Victor and me would remain unresolved.

Time flew by, and I moved up to a higher grade. That year, there was a city-wide student sports meet. When I stepped onto the court with my basketball, many people were cheering my name.

Since we were representing our school, we had a cheerleading squad, and some girls handed me water and towels.

That day, I saw Emily again on the court. We were playing against the middle school I used to attend, and I realized she was now in middle school.

I hadn't kept track of how long it had been since I last saw her, but seeing her this time, I noticed she had grown taller, her features had matured, and she looked very pretty and pure. She seemed to be part of their school's cheerleading squad, holding pom-poms and cheering with the other members.

Because of Emily's presence, I found it hard to concentrate on the game. Their school scored the first point, and she clapped with her pom-poms, her eyes curving into happy crescents. She looked so joyful.

Her smile was so precious! I was mesmerized. I always remembered her long eyelashes, and now, her smile was deeply imprinted in my mind, unforgettable.

Later, I had a chance to shoot, but I missed, and the other team grabbed the rebound and scored again. She jumped up in excitement. Her happiness inexplicably made me happy too. Scoring or winning didn't really matter.

The coach thought I was off my game and substituted me. The court was surrounded by people watching the game, but I was watching her.

Her white sneakers, already yellowed from washing, stood out, but it didn't affect her mood at all.

When she jumped up in excitement, the small mounds on her chest, covered by her uniform, bounced. That was when I realized she had developed.

Watching her chest bounce made my face heat up. I was a high schooler, and she was a middle schooler. There were many girls around me who had developed more than she had, but none of them caught my attention. I just liked watching her, and it made my heart skip a beat.