Chapter 3: The Baby in the Photograph
The knocking came again.
"Mrs. Whitmore, please open the door.""
I held Lily against my side.
She pressed her face into my black funeral dress.
"Mommy, I'm scared.""
I kissed the top of her head.
"It's okay, sweetheart.""
Arthur stood at the top of the stairs, holding Daniel's photograph.
He looked like a man who had just watched his entire life collapse.
"How many people know about this compartment?"" I whispered.
"Only Daniel and me.""
"And Margaret?""
"I don't think so.""
"Then how did someone find out?""
He didn't answer.
The man outside knocked again.
"We have reason to believe you possess property belonging to a deceased individual. Please open the door.""
I stared at Arthur.
"Property belonging to a deceased individual?""
"Don't give them the key.""
"Who are they?""
"I don't know.""
I almost laughed.
Everyone seemed to know something except me.
I took my phone from my pocket and checked the message Arthur had received.
Daniel's number.
The warning was still there.
*STOP THE FUNERAL. THEY KNOW ABOUT THE KEY.*
I called the number.
It rang once.
Twice.
Then someone answered.
"Hello?""
My knees nearly buckled.
It was a man's voice.
Not Daniel's.
"Who is this?"" I demanded.
Silence.
"Who has my husband's phone?""
The voice finally replied.
"Mrs. Whitmore, you need to listen carefully.""
Arthur grabbed my arm.
"Hang up.""
I pulled away.
"Tell me who you are.""
"Someone who knew Daniel.""
"Then tell me what happened to him.""
A pause.
Then the man said something that made the blood drain from my face.
"Your husband wasn't supposed to be in that car.""
The call ended.
I stared at the screen.
Arthur was breathing heavily.
"What did he say?""
I repeated the words.
He sat down on the stairs.
"Dear God.""
I turned toward him.
"Arthur, what happened three weeks before Daniel died?""
He rubbed both hands over his face.
"Daniel found a series of payments leaving one of his company's private accounts. Large amounts. Every month. The money had been transferred to a business that didn't officially exist.""
"Who was receiving it?""
"We thought it was a former business partner.""
"And?""
"Daniel traced the payments to someone inside the family.""
I looked at the photograph.
Margaret.
Arthur.
The newborn baby.
"Who?""
Arthur looked at the picture for a long moment.
"Your husband believed it was his older brother.""
I blinked.
"Daniel never had an older brother.""
Arthur's mouth trembled.
"That's what we told everyone.""
The words settled between us.
I felt Lily's small hand tighten around mine.
"Arthur, explain.""
He glanced at her.
"Not in front of the child.""
I turned to Lily.
"Sweetheart, why don't you go into our bedroom and watch your cartoons? I'll come in a minute.""
She hesitated.
"Promise?""
"I promise.""
She climbed the stairs.
When her bedroom door closed, I turned back.
"Talk.""
Arthur stood and walked toward the hallway.
"Twenty years ago, Margaret gave birth to twins.""
I stared at him.
"What?""
"Daniel and another boy.""
"That isn't possible.""
"Daniel was the only child we raised. The other baby was taken from the hospital.""
I felt a strange chill move through me.
"Taken?""
Arthur nodded.
"We were told he had died shortly after birth.""
"Who told you?""
"The hospital.""
"Then why would Daniel think his brother was alive?""
Arthur looked at the photograph.
"Because he found records showing the child had been discharged from the hospital.""
I swallowed.
"Someone took him?""
"Someone arranged for him to leave.""
"Who?""
Arthur's eyes filled.
"Margaret.""
I stepped backward.
"No.""
"She was young. She was terrified. She made a decision she spent the rest of her life regretting.""
"Where did the baby go?""
"We don't know.""
"Then how does this have anything to do with Daniel's death?""
Arthur lowered his voice.
"Because someone had been using that missing child's identity to access Daniel's company accounts.""
I stared at him.
"Why would anyone do that?""
"Because according to the records Daniel found, the missing child was still legally entitled to a portion of the family inheritance.""
I looked at the USB drive.
The photograph.
The letter.
Everything suddenly seemed connected.
"Who was the missing child?""
Arthur shook his head.
"Daniel never found his real name.""
I took a step closer.
"But you said Margaret knew.""
"She knew where the baby went. She refused to tell Daniel.""
"Why?""
"Because she believed the child was dead.""
I thought about Margaret's words at the church.
Daniel always deserved better.
Then another thought struck me.
"Why did she give Lily the key?""
Arthur's expression changed.
"Because she discovered something Daniel hadn't.""
"What?""
He opened his mouth.
Before he could answer, the doorbell rang.
The knocking stopped.
A second later, my phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
I opened the message.
There was a photograph.
It showed our house.
Taken from across the street.
The timestamp was from less than a minute earlier.
Beneath it were six words.
*WE KNOW YOU FOUND THE BOX.*
I looked through the upstairs window.
A black SUV was parked across the street.
Its headlights were off.
A man sat in the driver's seat.
He was staring directly at our house.
Arthur pulled the curtains shut.
"We need to leave.""
"Where?""
"Somewhere they can't find us.""
I shook my head.
"I'm not running until I know who killed Daniel.""
Arthur grabbed the USB drive.
"Then you need to see what's on this.""
We went downstairs.
The police were no longer knocking.
That frightened me more than their presence had.
Arthur connected the USB to Daniel's old laptop in the study.
A folder appeared.
Inside were twelve video files, several scanned documents, and a spreadsheet.
The first video was dated three weeks before Daniel's death.
I clicked it.
Daniel appeared on the screen.
He was sitting in his office, wearing the blue shirt I had bought him for his birthday.
His hair was messy.
His face looked exhausted.
I covered my mouth.
"Daniel...""
My husband leaned toward the camera.
"If you're watching this, Nia, then something happened before I could explain.""
He glanced offscreen.
Then he continued.
"There's something I need you to understand. The person who has been threatening me isn't a stranger. It's someone who has been sitting at our family table for years.""
The video flickered.
Daniel looked directly into the camera.
"Mom was right about the missing baby. He's alive.""
My heart hammered.
Daniel continued.
"And I finally found him.""
A document appeared beside the video.
It was a hospital record.
The name of the newborn had been partially blacked out.
But the date was clear.
Twenty years earlier.
The next page contained a photograph of a young man.
He had dark hair, a narrow face, and Daniel's unmistakable eyes.
I stared.
Arthur made a strangled sound.
"No.""
I turned toward him.
"What?""
He stepped closer to the screen.
His hands began to shake.
"That's impossible.""
"Who is he?""
Arthur didn't answer.
The video continued.
Daniel's expression became serious.
"Nia, there's one more thing. The man in this photograph isn't just my brother.""
He paused.
Then he said the words that changed everything.
"He's Lily's biological father.""
The room went silent.
I couldn't breathe.
Arthur backed away from the laptop.
"No, no. Daniel wouldn't...""
I looked at the screen.
My daughter's father.
The man I had buried that morning.
The man who had held Lily when she was born, taught her to ride a bicycle, and kissed her forehead every night.
Daniel had been her father in every way that mattered.
But the video was still playing.
And my husband's next words were even worse.
"There's a reason I never told you the truth about Lily's birth. And there's a reason Margaret made that promise to her.""
The video stopped.
A new file opened automatically.
Its title contained two words.
*BIRTH CERTIFICATE.*
I clicked it.
The document loaded.
My name appeared at the top.
Daniel's name appeared beneath it.
Then I saw the third name.
The biological father.
I recognized him immediately.
Because he was the man standing outside our house in the black SUV.
And beneath his photograph was a name I had heard only once before.
May you like
A name Daniel had whispered during a nightmare the night before he died.
*Ethan Whitmore.*
