Chapter 7: The Brother Who Knew Too Much
The call ended.
But my uncle’s final words stayed.
*Your father knew the person responsible was standing beside him every single day.*
I stood there holding the phone, unable to move.
The room felt different.
The air felt heavier.
Because suddenly, every person around me had become a question.
Jonathan.
Victoria.
Marcus.
My father’s closest circle.
The people who claimed to love him.
The people who claimed to protect me.
One of them had destroyed my family.
And I had spent my entire life trusting them.
“Ethan.””
Victoria’s voice pulled me back.
I looked at her.
The woman who had been my stepmother for years.
The woman whose name was written in my father’s secret ledger.
The woman my uncle had just accused without saying her name.
“Did Marcus call you?”” she asked.
I stared.
“You know who I was talking to?””
Her silence lasted only a second.
But it was enough.
“You knew.””
Victoria looked away.
“I knew he would eventually contact you.””
My anger rose.
“Everyone knew something.””
I grabbed the ledger from the desk.
“Everyone except me.””
Jonathan stepped forward.
“Ethan, listen carefully.””
“No.””
I looked at him.
“I’m done listening to people explain why they lied.””
My voice shook.
“My mother disappeared. My father died. Someone inside my family destroyed everything. And somehow I’m the last person to find out.””
Nobody spoke.
Because nobody could deny it.
I looked at Victoria.
“Why is your name in the ledger?””
Her face remained calm.
But her hands tightened slightly.
That small movement told me more than words.
“Because Richard was investigating me.””
“Were you involved?””
“No.””
The answer came quickly.
Too quickly.
I studied her.
“You expect me to believe that?””
“I expect you to ask the right question.””
I frowned.
“What does that mean?””
Victoria walked toward the desk.
“Your father didn’t create that ledger because he knew who betrayed him.””
She touched the cover.
“He created it because he didn’t know.””
I looked at Jonathan.
“Is that true?””
Jonathan nodded slowly.
“Richard was searching for evidence.””
“Against who?””
“Everyone.””
The answer made my chest tighten.
My father trusted nobody.
Not his brother.
Not his wife.
Not even his attorney.
A memory came back.
I was sixteen years old.
I had walked into my father’s office unexpectedly.
He was on the phone.
His voice was low.
Serious.
I remembered hearing him say one sentence before he noticed me.
“I don’t know who I can trust anymore.””
At the time, I thought he was talking about business.
I thought billionaires had problems I couldn’t understand.
Now I realized he had been drowning.
And I had never noticed.
“Where is Marcus now?”” I asked.
Jonathan looked at me.
“We don’t know.””
“Convenient.””
“Ethan—”
“No.””
I turned.
“If he can call me, he knows where I am.””
Victoria’s expression changed.
“He’s trying to manipulate you.””
“Is he?””
She didn’t answer.
That bothered me.
Because Victoria had answers.
She always had answers.
But she only gave them when she had no choice.
I walked back to the desk.
“Tell me about the night my mother disappeared.””
The room went silent.
Victoria looked at Jonathan.
Then back at me.
“That story has never been what you were told.””
“Then tell me.””
She took a breath.
“Your mother discovered financial records that showed someone was stealing from Vance International.””
“Marcus?””
“We thought it was Marcus.””
“What changed?””
Victoria looked down.
“Your mother found proof that Marcus wasn’t working alone.””
A cold feeling moved through me.
“Who was he working with?””
Victoria didn’t answer.
“Victoria.””
Her eyes met mine.
“Your mother found evidence connected to someone in your father’s personal life.””
My heart started pounding.
“Someone close.””
“Yes.””
“Who?””
Before she could answer, the lights went out.
The entire room went dark.
For a moment, nobody moved.
Then a sound.
A door opening.
Jonathan immediately reached for his phone.
“Stay where you are.””
A shadow moved near the entrance.
I stepped forward.
“Who’s there?””
No answer.
Then a familiar voice spoke from the darkness.
“Ethan.””
My blood froze.
Because I knew that voice too.
“Marcus?””
The lights suddenly came back.
But the doorway was empty.
No one there.
Only a small envelope lying on the floor.
Jonathan walked toward it.
“Don’t touch it.””
But I was already moving.
Something inside me knew.
The envelope was for me.
I picked it up.
My name was written across the front.
*Ethan.*
Again.
Another secret.
Another message.
I opened it.
Inside was a photograph.
An old photograph.
My father.
My mother.
And another person standing beside them.
Someone I recognized.
My hands went cold.
Because the person in the photo was not Marcus.
Not Victoria.
Not Jonathan.
It was someone else.
Someone who had been at my father’s funeral.
Someone who had hugged me.
Someone who had told me how sorry they were.
On the back of the photograph were six words:
*ASK WHO SIGNED THE DEATH CERTIFICATE.*
I looked up.
Jonathan saw my face.
“What is it?””
I handed him the photo.
The second he saw it, all color disappeared from his face.
“Impossible.””
Victoria stepped closer.
“What?””
Jonathan didn’t answer.
He just stared.
“Who is it?”” I demanded.
Slowly, he looked at me.
And then he said the name.
“The person who signed your mother’s death certificate.””
My stomach tightened.
“Who?””
Jonathan swallowed.
“Your father’s personal physician.””
I waited.
But he wasn’t finished.
“Dr. Samuel Reed.””
I searched my memory.
The name was familiar.
Too familiar.
Then I remembered.
The man who stood beside my father at every public event.
The man who treated my father during his final illness.
The man who had been at my father’s funeral.
I whispered:
“He was there.””
Jonathan nodded.
“Yes.””
The realization hit me.
The person who had been closest to my father when he died…
Was the same person connected to my mother’s disappearance.
Victoria took the photograph from Jonathan.
Her face changed.
Not fear.
Recognition.
“You knew.””
I looked at her.
“What?””
She stared at the picture.
“You knew he was involved.””
Victoria’s eyes moved to me.
“I suspected.””
My anger returned.
“Of course you did.””
I stepped back.
“Everyone suspects.””
I grabbed my jacket.
“I’m finding Dr. Reed.””
Jonathan immediately blocked the door.
“No.””
I looked at him.
“Move.””
“You don’t understand what you’re walking into.””
“I understand perfectly.””
I pointed at the photograph.
“My entire life was stolen from me.””
My voice lowered.
“My mother.””
“My father.””
“My family.””
“I’m done waiting.””
Jonathan looked at me.
For a moment, I saw something in his expression.
Regret.
Maybe even fear.
Then he moved aside.
As I walked out, Victoria spoke.
“Ethan.””
I stopped.
I didn’t turn.
“You need to know something.””
“What?””
Her voice was quiet.
“The person who killed your mother didn’t just want her gone.””
I slowly looked back.
“What did they want?””
Victoria held my father’s ledger tightly.
“They wanted your father to believe she abandoned him.””
My chest tightened.
“Why?””
Victoria looked at the photograph.
“Because they knew the only thing stronger than your father’s power…”
She paused.
“…was his love for your mother.””
I left the office.
But before I reached the elevator, my phone buzzed.
A new message.
This time from Dr. Samuel Reed.
I opened it.
One sentence.
*Your father finally told you the truth. Now I’ll tell you why he died.*
I stared at the screen.
Then another message appeared.
A photograph.
Not of a document.
Not of a person.
A hospital room.
My father’s hospital room.
Taken on the night he died.
And standing beside his bed…
Was me.
But I was not alone.
Someone else was in the room.
Someone I never remembered seeing.
May you like
Someone leaning over my father’s body.
Someone wearing my mother’s necklace.
