Chapter 3 - THE MAN AT THE GATE
Security brought the stranger into the house.
My father refused to let Vanessa enter.
She remained outside.
The man was escorted into the study.
He was around sixty years old.
Gray hair.
Dark coat.
A scar crossed one eyebrow.
He carried no weapon.
No briefcase.
Only an old leather envelope.
My father stood across from him.
“Who are you?”
The man looked at him.
“Your wife knew me.”
“My wife is dead.”
“I know.”
Dad's expression hardened.
“You were supposed to be dead too.”
The man smiled.
“I've been hiding.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Samuel.”
The man looked at him.
“Michael.”
“You disappeared fifteen years ago.”
“I had to.”
“Why?”
Samuel looked at me.
“Because of him.”
He pointed at my father.
Dad stepped forward.
“Don't involve my son.”
Samuel looked at him.
“Your son is the reason I came back.”
He placed the leather envelope on the table.
“Your wife left this for Ethan.”
My father didn't touch it.
“Why didn't she give it to me?”
“She didn't trust you.”
Those words hit Dad hard.
“Why?”
Samuel didn't answer.
Instead, he looked at me.
“Ethan, do you remember your mother?”
I nodded.
“Barely.”
“Do you remember what she told you before she died?”
I thought.
Then one memory came back.
“She told me never to trust people who smile when they're angry.”
Samuel's face changed.
“She told you that?”
“Yes.”
He looked at my father.
“She knew.”
“Knew what?”
“That you were being watched.”
My father frowned.
“By whom?”
Samuel opened the envelope.
Inside was a photograph.
It showed my mother.
She stood outside a courthouse.
Beside her was a woman.
I recognized her.
Vanessa.
My stomach dropped.
Dad stared at the photograph.
“When was this taken?”
Samuel answered.
“Three years before Vanessa met you.”
Dad looked at him.
“That is impossible.”
“No.”
“She wasn't in our lives.”
“She wasn't.”
“Then why was she with my wife?”
Samuel said nothing.
Michael took the photograph.
He examined it.
“There is a date on the back.”
Dad looked.
His face changed.
The date was exactly one week before my mother died.
My father sat down.
“What happened that week?”
Samuel finally spoke.
“Your wife discovered someone had been stealing from her trust.”
“Who?”
“She didn't know.”
“Then why did she meet Vanessa?”
“Because Vanessa approached her.”
“Why?”
“She claimed to have evidence.”
Dad stared.
“What evidence?”
“That someone inside the family had been moving money.”
Michael asked:
“Did your wife believe her?”
“Yes.”
“Then why did she leave Vanessa out of the will?”
Samuel looked at me.
“Because she discovered Vanessa was part of the theft.”
The room went silent.
My father whispered:
“Why didn't anyone tell me?”
“Because your wife didn't trust you.”
Dad stood.
“You keep saying that.”
Samuel looked at him.
“Your wife believed someone close to you was controlling you.”
Dad's eyes narrowed.
“Who?”
Samuel pointed toward the photograph.
“Her.”
Vanessa.
My father's hands clenched.
He walked toward the window.
She was still standing beyond the gate.
“Why did she come back?”
Samuel shook his head.
“She didn't.”
Dad turned.
“What?”
“The woman outside is not the person you think she is.”
My father stared.
“What are you saying?”
Samuel opened another photograph.
It showed Vanessa beside another woman.
The faces were similar.
But not identical.
He pointed to the second woman.
“This is the original Vanessa Voss.”
Dad looked confused.
“And the woman outside?”
“An impostor.”
My heart started racing.
“Then who is she?”
Samuel looked at me.
“Someone your mother spent years investigating.”
Michael stepped forward.
“Her name?”
Samuel's expression became grim.
“Clara Reed.”
Dad stared.
“Who is Clara Reed?”
Samuel looked toward the window.
“The woman who has been trying to get into this family since before Ethan was born.”
My father walked toward the gate camera.
“Then why did she pretend to be Vanessa?”
“Because Vanessa was already dead.”
Nobody spoke.
My father slowly turned.
“Dead?”
Samuel nodded.
“Your wife discovered the truth.”
“Who killed her?”
Samuel didn't answer.
My father grabbed his coat.
“Tell me.”
Samuel looked at me.
“Not yet.”
Dad slammed his hand against the desk.
“My wife died twelve years ago.”
“Yes.”
“And you know who killed her.”
“Yes.”
“Then tell me.”
Samuel's voice became quiet.
“Because the person who killed your wife is still close to Ethan.”
I felt a chill.
“Who?”
Samuel looked directly at my grandmother.
She gasped.
Dad turned toward her.
“Mom?”
Grandma began crying.
“I didn't know.”
“What didn't you know?”
“I thought he was protecting us.”
“Who?”
Grandma couldn't answer.
Then the front door opened.
Vanessa—or Clara—walked inside.
Security tried to stop her.
She screamed.
“Daniel!”
My father turned.
She held a small photograph.
“Your son is in danger.”
Dad froze.
She threw the photograph onto the table.
It showed me walking home from school.
Someone had been following me.
A black car appeared behind me.
Dad's face went white.
Clara smiled.
“You want the truth?”
Dad stared at her.
“Yes.”
“Then give me the blue box.”
My father didn't move.
May you like
She leaned closer.
“Because if you don't, Ethan won't live long enough to inherit anything.”
