The Son He Didn’t Recognize

My dad, Commander Grant, was a rescue team captain. He was leading his crew on a training expedition in the snowy mountains when they stumbled upon human remains, half-buried in a snowdrift.

After reporting it to the police, his first call was to my adopted brother, Brandon, to tell him to cancel his hiking trip planned for a few days later.

One of his teammates, Mike, reminded him, "Hey, Commander Grant, maybe call Leo too? Check on him?"

But Dad just snapped, his voice laced with venom, "That damned demon! He deserves to rot out there!"

What Dad didn't know was that I was already dead.