Chapter 10 – Close Steps
The boring days in prison kept dragging on. Everyone was silent, no one was picking a fight. Lukas was struggling to hold himself together. He couldn't accept the fact that Frank was his brother.
Unable to endure the silence any longer, Frank walked up to Lukas with a photo album in his hands.
Lukas: "Do you want me to break your nose again?"
Frank: "Don't hate me so much. We were both innocent kids, I never wanted it to turn out this way. Just listen to me for two minutes, then you can decide."
Lukas: "No matter what you say, I won't agree with you. Nobody here will ever know we're brothers. Besides, it's not even certain."
Frank:
— "It is." he said, handing the album to Lukas.
— "Look, this is us. You had this photo too, didn't you? I lied to you that day, because I had realized something was going on. As I said, I only found out recently. If I had known you were my brother… I would never have—"
Lukas: "You're such a terrible person. Is this what you did to everyone? You can't even be my brother."
Frank: "I'm sorry. I swear I'll change from now on. You may not believe me, but I've been through a lot. There was an old woman who took care of me once, but one day she got sick. I had no money to buy her medicine, so I joined a group that made children work. I was beaten all the time, raised the wrong way… That's how I grew up."
Lukas: "It's not like I had a perfect life either. At least you had someone who looked after you. I grew up alone, next to a dumpster… with a stray dog."
Tears welled up in Frank's eyes. He hugged Lukas. Everyone in the room was shocked. Lukas was about to push him away, but his heart wouldn't let him. He just froze.
Lukas: "Don't you ever try that again."
Frank: "I'm sorry."
Everyone's eyes were fixed on them. Then Martin called out:
— "What are you looking at? Mind your own business!"
He walked up to them, pulled a tissue from his pocket, and said to Lukas:
— "Hey Lukas, is this yours? I found it in the bathroom last night."
Lukas quickly grabbed it from him.
— "Yeah, it's mine. Thanks."
Martin: "Don't get me wrong, I don't mean any harm… but I read it."
Lukas turned red with embarrassment and ran to the bathroom.
Martin: "Why did he do that?"
Frank: "I think he's just embarrassed."
Martin: "I see. Does Lukas have any kind of book?"
Frank: "No idea, but the other day he was celebrating saying 'It's finished.' So, I guess there's something."
Martin smiled:
— "Alright, thanks." and walked toward the bathroom.
When he got there, Lukas had all his writings scattered on the floor, looking through them.
Martin: "Do you have a story you've written?"
Lukas: "What are you gonna do, mock me too?"
Martin: "Listen, Lukas. I came here for supervision. A guard told me someone was writing like this, so I entered the prison to find that person. Because this had never happened before."
Lukas: "Was that guard's name Souza?"
Martin: "I don't know."
Lukas: "So what now?"
Martin: "You'll give me all of these, and I'll have them published."
Lukas was overjoyed, his dreams were coming true. He handed over everything he had — all his stories, all the tissues. Days passed, but Martin still hadn't left the prison.
After a while, Frank came up to him:
— "Weren't you supposed to leave?"
Martin: "I'm leaving today."
Lukas came over:
— "I trust you, Martin."
Martin: "Don't worry, I'll make you happy."
Then, with a strange smile, he went to the bathroom.
Lukas turned to Frank:
— "Where do you know him from?"
Frank: "He's a famous writer, I told you."
Lukas: "Alright."
A few hours later, a guard shouted, "Martin Kings!" announcing he was being released. Lukas and Frank were shocked when they heard it — he had come for supervision, so why were they treating him like a prisoner being freed?
Martin turned back, smiled, and gestured to Lukas: "You're finished." The guard shut the door behind him.
That's when Lukas's mind clicked. Why had he trusted him in the first place? He had even given him all his writings.
Lukas immediately contacted his son Jake. He had only five minutes to explain everything, so he told him briefly.
Jake: "Dad, I'll chase after this guy and try to get back what you gave him."
Lukas (calmly): "No, son. Just find out why he did it. Who told him to do this?"
Jake: "Dad, you spent months writing… What's going to happen to all that? Will it all just vanish?"
Lukas didn't seem to grasp the seriousness of it; losing all his work felt like a joke to him. Calmly and confidently, he said:
— "They're all in my head, son."
Jake couldn't believe what he was hearing. How could someone memorize thousands of words he had written?
One week later
Jake still hadn't heard a word from Martin; it seemed he had gone far away. He wondered if it had anything to do with his father, since Martin's first move had been against him. Blaming himself for everything, Jake was consumed with hatred.
He thought about going to his mother for answers about his father, but he remembered how that bastard had nothing to do with her and had only caused her trouble. So he gave up. With the DNA test his mother had given him, he went to the hospital and was able to learn only his father's name: Steve Brown.
Jake muttered to himself:
— "So my cursed last name is Brown… Damn it. After all these years, some bastard shows up, says he's my father, and ruins my life…"
Everything was now up to Jake. Who was the fat man in the suit from his dreams? Why did Harry suddenly appear in rage and die? Why did his friend stab him in the back? He had to find out the reason behind it all.
Even though he was disappointed, Abel texted him:
"Stop overthinking. If you cared about me even a little, come to the park where we used to hang out. Just come without thinking."
Jake waited in the park for 1–2 hours, but thought Abel wasn't going to show up.
Until he arrived on his red bike.
With a panicked face:
— "Your father is threatening me," he said, then immediately pedaled away from the park.
Jake was left stunned. Before he could even say a word, Abel was already gone.
But as he left, he dropped a letter on the ground.
Jake picked it up, opened it, and found a location. He went there.
When he arrived, he saw an old building — the very place Lukas had gone to before. He walked inside; it was empty.
Jake: "Hey, is anyone here?!"
Then a man's voice echoed from within. Jake ran toward the room — and came face to face with a fat man in a suit.