Chapter 12: The Brother Who Came Back From the Dead
We left the hospital under police escort.
Zachary sat in the back of the second vehicle, handcuffed and guarded. He had agreed to cooperate in exchange for protection.
I didn't trust him.
But he was the only person who knew where Hannah was.
Margaret sat beside me.
She hadn't spoken since David's arrest.
James drove the first vehicle.
Sarah sat beside him, holding the hospital records.
For several minutes, the only sound was the rain against the windshield.
Then Margaret spoke.
"Chris, there's something I should have told you years ago.""
I looked at her.
"Another secret?""
She nodded.
"Richard wasn't simply David's partner.""
I closed my eyes.
"Please don't tell me he was involved with you.""
Margaret looked away.
"He was my first husband.""
I stared at her.
"What?""
"Before I met David. Before I met you. Richard and I were married for fourteen months.""
I couldn't believe what I was hearing.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
"Because he was dangerous.""
"And James?""
"James was conceived during that marriage.""
I looked toward the first vehicle.
Our son.
The child we had spent hours discussing.
The child who had been taken from his biological parents.
I understood now why the DNA report named Richard.
But another question remained.
"Why did Richard disappear?""
Margaret took a shaky breath.
"Because David discovered that Richard intended to expose the financial fraud. He arranged for him to be declared dead after a staged accident.""
"Then why did you tell everyone he was dead?""
"I didn't. David did.""
She turned toward me.
"I spent years trying to find him.""
"And now he's holding our daughter?""
Margaret began crying.
"Yes.""
I looked out the window.
I wanted to scream.
Instead, I asked the only question that mattered.
"How do we get Hannah back?""
Zachary had given us an address.
The original Albright estate.
It was a large property about twenty miles outside the city. The mansion had been abandoned after Richard's disappearance, but the grounds were still maintained.
A private security company controlled the entrance.
We stopped several hundred yards from the gates.
The police commander approached Zachary.
"How many people are inside?""
"At least four.""
"Armed?""
"Richard always carries a weapon.""
The commander looked at me.
"Stay here.""
I stepped forward.
"My daughter is inside.""
"We'll get her.""
"I want to be there.""
"You're not trained for this.""
"I'm her father.""
Margaret touched my arm.
"Chris, let them do their job.""
I looked at her.
For once, I listened.
The officers moved toward the entrance.
James stood beside me.
"Do you think he'll recognize me?""
I looked at him.
"Who?""
"Richard.""
I didn't know what to say.
James stared at the mansion.
"I've spent my entire life wondering why I didn't belong anywhere. Eleanor loved me, but there was always something missing.""
He swallowed.
"Now I find out my biological father is alive, and he's holding my sister hostage.""
I placed a hand on his shoulder.
"You belong with us.""
James nodded.
Then he said quietly, "I hope I can believe that.""
A police radio crackled.
"Command, we have movement near the west entrance.""
A second officer responded.
"Visual confirmed. One male, approximately sixty-five years old.""
Margaret stepped forward.
"That's Richard.""
I looked at her.
"How do you know?""
She stared at the figure appearing behind the gate.
"Because I would recognize him anywhere.""
The man walked slowly toward the officers.
He wore a dark coat and carried a walking stick.
He looked older than the photographs.
But his face was unmistakable.
Richard Albright.
The man who had supposedly died eleven years earlier.
He stopped several feet from the police.
Then he raised both hands.
"I assume you're here for the girl.""
The commander ordered him to kneel.
Richard obeyed.
But his eyes never left James.
For several seconds, father and son stared at each other across the wet driveway.
Then Richard smiled.
"James.""
James didn't move.
Richard continued.
"You've grown.""
James finally spoke.
"Don't.""
Richard's smile faded.
"You have your mother's eyes.""
"Which mother?""
The question seemed to strike him.
Richard looked toward Margaret.
She stepped forward.
"Where is Hannah?""
Richard sighed.
"Inside.""
"Let her go.""
"I will.""
"When?""
"When the documents are signed.""
The commander moved closer.
"What documents?""
Richard looked at him.
"The original inheritance transfer.""
Margaret shook her head.
"You don't have the authority to demand that.""
"Actually, I do.""
He reached into his coat and removed a folder.
"The original trust was amended shortly before the children were born. It gave me the right to reclaim the estate if my biological heir was not recognized.""
James stared at him.
"You're talking about me?""
Richard nodded.
"You were always supposed to inherit.""
"I don't want your money.""
Richard laughed.
"Everyone says that until they understand how much they're refusing.""
James stepped forward.
"I don't want anything from you.""
Richard's expression hardened.
"Then you don't care what happens to your sister?""
James went still.
I moved between them.
"Don't threaten him.""
Richard glanced at me.
"Christopher Williams. The man who raised the wrong child.""
I clenched my fists.
"You're the man who abandoned his own.""
Richard's eyes narrowed.
"Margaret told you a very interesting story.""
"She told me enough.""
"No. She told you what she needed you to believe.""
He turned toward the mansion.
"Bring the girl out.""
A side door opened.
Two men appeared.
Between them was Hannah.
Her hands were tied.
Her face was bruised, but she was walking.
I ran forward.
The commander stopped me.
"Dad!"" Hannah shouted.
"I'm here!""
She began crying.
Richard raised one hand.
"Not so fast.""
The men stopped.
Richard looked at James.
"Come here.""
James didn't move.
"Let her go.""
"Sign the transfer.""
"I said no.""
Richard looked at Hannah.
One of the men pulled her backward.
She screamed.
James stepped forward.
"Stop!""
Richard smiled.
"That's better.""
A police officer moved toward the men.
Richard raised his walking stick.
A small metallic device was attached to its handle.
"Don't," he said.
The commander stopped.
Richard pressed a button.
A loud alarm sounded from inside the mansion.
Then several windows shattered.
Smoke began pouring from the upper floor.
Margaret screamed.
"He's destroying the records!""
Richard looked at James.
"Everything your mother hid is in that house. If it burns, the trust disappears.""
James stared at him.
"You're insane.""
Richard's smile vanished.
"No, son. I'm finally taking back what was stolen from me.""
The commander ordered everyone to move.
Two officers rushed toward Hannah.
The men holding her panicked.
One released her and ran toward the house.
The other grabbed her around the neck.
I broke away from the commander.
I didn't think.
I ran.
Hannah saw me.
"Dad!""
The man holding her raised his arm.
Then James struck him from behind.
The man collapsed.
I caught Hannah before she hit the ground.
She buried her face against my chest.
"You're okay," I whispered.
"I've got you.""
But the celebration lasted only a second.
Richard had disappeared.
So had the folder.
The commander shouted for backup.
Smoke thickened above the mansion.
Margaret rushed toward the entrance.
"Richard!""
A figure appeared in the doorway.
It wasn't Richard.
It was Zachary.
He had escaped his police escort.
He was carrying a small metal case.
James stared at him.
"What are you doing?""
Zachary looked at Margaret.
Then at me.
"Saving what's left of this family.""
He placed the case on the ground and opened it.
Inside were dozens of old photographs, original birth certificates, and a thick legal document.
Margaret approached slowly.
"Where did you get that?""
Zachary looked at her.
"From Richard's private office.""
He removed the top document.
Then he turned it toward James.
"There's something you need to know.""
James looked down.
His face changed.
The document wasn't an inheritance agreement.
It was a marriage certificate.
Dated thirty-two years earlier.
The names were Richard Albright and Margaret Williams.
But beneath Margaret's signature was a handwritten note.
*Marriage dissolved before the birth of the children.*
James looked up.
"Mother, were you married to Richard when I was born?""
Margaret closed her eyes.
"Yes.""
"Then why did you tell me David was my father?""
"I didn't.""
Zachary placed another document on top.
A DNA report.
This one identified the biological father of all three children.
I looked at the names.
Hannah Williams.
James Morgan.
Sarah Morgan.
The same result appeared beside every name.
*Father: David Morgan.*
I looked at Margaret.
Then at James.
Then at Hannah.
All three children belonged to the same man.
Richard had never been James's biological father.
The previous DNA report had been manipulated.
Zachary stepped closer.
"Richard knows the truth.""
Hannah wiped her tears.
"Then why did he claim James was his son?""
Zachary looked toward the burning mansion.
"Because he doesn't want the inheritance.""
He paused.
"He wants something much more valuable.""
I stared at the DNA report.
"What?""
Zachary's voice dropped.
"The identity of David Morgan's real firstborn son.""
James looked at him.
"Why?""
Zachary pointed toward the photograph inside the metal case.
It showed Margaret holding three newborn babies.
On the back was a handwritten sentence.
*Only one of these children was born alive.*
Nobody spoke.
Margaret began shaking.
Then she whispered:
"That's impossible.""
Zachary looked directly at her.
"Is it?""
He removed one final document from the case.
It was a death certificate.
The name on it belonged to a baby boy.
The date matched the day Hannah and the others were supposedly born.
But the signature at the bottom was Margaret's.
And beside it was a sentence that made me realize we had not reached the end of the nightmare.
*Mother's statement: I confirm that my child was stillborn.*
Hannah looked at her mother.
"Mom?""
Margaret couldn't answer.
May you like
Because the document suggested that one of her children had died before ever leaving the hospital.
And someone had spent thirty-two years pretending that child never existed.
