Prologue
Vancouver, British Columbia, Thirty Years Ago
The boy bounced downstairs early one morning after showering, to get some breakfast before school. He walked by the den, then slowed as he saw his dad sprawled on the couch in front of the television, seemingly asleep. The television was off. There was an empty glass on the coffee table paired with an equally empty pill bottle.
“Hey Dad, did you sleep down here last night?” No answer. He went over and shook his dad’s arm. It felt cold. No response. He started to feel ill. He walked slowly back up the stairs to his parent’s bedroom, uncertain what was wrong. He stopped at the partially open door. “Mom, Dad’s not moving.”
“What do you mean?” came a groggy reply. “Where is he?” Then came a louder reply as his mother woke up. “Where is he?” she shrieked. The boy started to cry.
“He’s downstairs in front of the TV. He’s not moving, Mom.”
His mother ran out of the room and down the stairs. Then the screaming started. “Call 911, now!”
His mother cried and quietly moaned that day, not understanding what happened or why. The boy surely did not understand what happened to his father. The call to the police, the arrival of the paramedics, the questioning looks from their neighbours, all of it a living nightmare. Then nothing for a while.
He stayed home from school. The neighbours avoided talking to the remaining family. Their friends did not know what to do any more than the boy and his mother did. Grief counselling was a thing for the future, and there wasn’t much family left to help console them.
When the banks came calling, the boy’s mother slowly realized that their whole life had been mortgaged by her husband. She had no idea whether it was stupidity, bad luck, or something more sinister. The bank foreclosed on their home while all the other family property, including a shopping plaza and a few older apartment buildings, was somehow not theirs anymore. Instead, it belonged to someone else.
After his mother explained things to the boy, he considered this and realized that someone had tricked his father. He made a vow to himself to find out who had done it. Then he would exact revenge for his family.
