Chapter 6: The Brother Who Was Supposed to Be Dead
“Michael died six years ago.””
Daniel said it again.
Not because I hadn’t heard him.
Because he needed to convince himself.
The alley suddenly felt too small.
The walls seemed closer.
The air felt heavier.
I looked at the note in his hand.
*Daniel, I’m sorry. Your brother knows where Lily is.*
A sentence that shouldn’t exist.
A name that shouldn’t matter.
A man who shouldn’t be part of this story.
But he was.
“Tell me everything,” I said.
Daniel didn’t answer.
He stared at the photograph of Claire.
The woman who had been there the night I found Emma.
The woman who had disappeared.
The woman who apparently knew more about Lily than anyone.
“Daniel.””
He finally looked at me.
“Michael was my younger brother.””
His voice was flat.
Almost emotionless.
The kind of voice people used when they were trying not to fall apart.
“He was three years younger than me. Growing up, we were inseparable.””
“What happened?””
Daniel looked away.
“He changed.””
I waited.
“He got into trouble. Bad trouble.””
“What kind?””
Daniel folded the note carefully.
“The kind where people stop seeing you as family.””
A chill ran through me.
“You think he took Lily?””
Daniel didn’t answer immediately.
And that scared me more than if he had said yes.
“I don’t know.””
“How can you not know?””
“Because Michael was dead before Lily disappeared.””
The words hung between us.
I crossed my arms.
“Explain.””
Daniel looked down.
“Six years ago, Michael died in a motorcycle accident.””
His eyes moved toward his own leather vest.
“I was the one who identified his body.””
My stomach tightened.
“You’re sure?””
“Yes.””
“Completely sure?””
Daniel looked at me.
“I buried my brother.””
The pain in his voice ended the argument.
For a moment, neither of us spoke.
Then I looked at the note.
“But Claire believed he was alive.””
Daniel shook his head.
“Or someone wanted her to believe that.””
I looked back at the apartment building.
At the place where my life changed.
“Someone has been lying for five years.””
Daniel nodded.
“And we need to find out who.””
We spent the next two hours searching through everything we could find.
Not online.
Not publicly.
Those places were too easy to watch.
Daniel took me to an old storage unit he still rented.
A place filled with pieces of a life he had lost.
Boxes.
Photographs.
Documents.
Memories.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The smell of dust and old paper filled the air.
“This is everything from before Lily disappeared.””
I looked around.
There were hundreds of photos.
A family frozen in time.
Daniel holding a baby.
His wife laughing.
Michael standing beside him.
I picked up a photograph.
Michael looked nothing like Daniel.
Daniel had a serious face.
Strong features.
A person who carried responsibility.
Michael looked softer.
A charming smile.
The kind of person strangers trusted quickly.
“That’s him?””
Daniel nodded.
“My brother.””
“He doesn’t look dangerous.””
Daniel gave a sad smile.
“That was his talent.””
I looked at him.
“He could make anyone believe he was the best person in the room.””
The way Daniel said it told me there was history there.
“What happened between you two?””
He sat on an old chair.
“Michael always wanted what other people had.””
“That sounds normal.””
“It wasn’t.””
Daniel looked at the floor.
“When my wife and I had Lily, Michael changed.””
“How?””
“He became obsessed with her.””
I frowned.
“Obsessed?””
“He would visit constantly. Buy her gifts. Take pictures. Hold her for hours.””
“That sounds like an uncle who loved his niece.””
“It did.””
Daniel’s voice lowered.
“Until it didn’t.””
I waited.
“One night, I found him searching through our personal documents.””
“What documents?””
“Birth records. Insurance papers. Everything about Lily.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Why?””
“I asked him.””
“What did he say?””
Daniel laughed bitterly.
“He said he was just curious.””
“And you believed him?””
“No.””
The silence answered everything.
“What happened after that?””
“I told him to stay away.””
“And?””
“He got angry.””
“How angry?””
Daniel looked at me.
“He said something I never forgot.””
My skin prickled.
“What?””
“He said, ‘You have no idea what you have.’”
The room went quiet.
I looked down at the photograph.
A family.
A baby.
A secret.
“Did you tell anyone?””
“My wife.””
“What did she say?””
“She said she felt uncomfortable around him too.””
Daniel rubbed his hands together.
“But then Lily disappeared.””
“And Michael died.””
“Yes.””
I looked at the note.
“Unless he didn’t.””
Daniel’s jaw tightened.
That evening, we returned to my house.
I didn’t want Emma to see how frightened I was.
But she noticed anyway.
Children always did.
She was sitting on the living room floor drawing.
When I walked in, she looked up.
“Mommy.””
I smiled.
“Hey, sweetheart.””
She looked at Daniel.
“Are you staying for dinner?””
Daniel froze.
I looked at her.
“Why would you ask that?””
She shrugged.
“Because you both look lonely.””
The room became painfully quiet.
Daniel looked away.
I pretended to check my phone.
But my eyes burned.
Emma didn’t know.
She didn’t know the man sitting across from her might be her father.
She didn’t know the woman who raised her might lose the certainty she had built her life around.
She only knew two adults looked sad.
And she wanted to fix it.
“I’ll make pasta,” I said.
Emma smiled.
“Good.””
Then she looked at Daniel.
“Do you like pasta?””
Daniel smiled.
“I do.””
“Good.””
She nodded seriously.
“Because Mommy makes too much.””
I laughed despite myself.
Daniel did too.
For a brief moment…
Everything felt normal.
Almost.
Then his phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“Who is it?”” I asked.
He didn’t answer.
He just showed me.
Unknown number.
Again.
My stomach dropped.
He answered.
“Hello?””
No one spoke.
Only breathing.
Daniel stood.
“Who is this?””
Silence.
Then a voice.
A woman’s voice.
Quiet.
Terrified.
“Daniel?””
His face changed.
“Claire?””
I grabbed the edge of the table.
The woman on the phone started crying.
“I don’t have much time.””
Daniel’s voice shook.
“Where are you?””
“I need you to listen.””
“Claire, where is Lily?””
A pause.
Then:
“She was never taken.””
My heart stopped.
Daniel froze.
“What?””
The voice trembled.
“She was hidden.””
“By who?””
Another pause.
Then the answer.
“By Michael.””
Daniel closed his eyes.
I watched his hand tighten around the phone.
“That’s impossible.””
“No,” Claire whispered.
“It’s the truth.””
The room went silent.
Even Emma stopped drawing.
Daniel’s voice became softer.
“Claire…”
“I tried to tell you.””
“Where have you been?””
“I was running.””
“From who?””
The line crackled.
Then Claire said something that made my blood turn cold.
“From the same person who has been watching Sarah all these years.””
I looked around the room.
At the windows.
The doors.
The shadows.
Daniel looked at me.
“Where is Lily?””
Claire breathed heavily.
“I can’t say over the phone.””
“Then tell me where to meet you.””
A long silence.
Then:
“Go to the old farmhouse outside town.””
Daniel grabbed a pen.
“When?””
“Tonight.””
“Claire—”
“And Daniel?””
“Yes?””
Her voice broke.
“When you see Lily…”
She paused.
“Don’t let her see Michael.””
The call ended.
Nobody moved.
Emma looked between us.
“Who was that?””
I opened my mouth.
But before I could answer, Daniel looked toward the window.
His face had gone pale.
“What?””
He pointed.
Across the street.
Under the glow of a streetlight.
A figure stood watching our house.
A woman.
Dark hair.
Gray coat.
Claire.
But she wasn’t holding a phone.
She was holding something else.
A photograph.
And even from across the street…
I knew exactly who was in it.
Me.
Daniel.
May you like
And Emma.
Taken from inside my home.
