Chapter 9: The Call From the Missing Son
Jordan didn't move.
He stood beside the coffee table, staring at Richard as if he were looking at a stranger.
“Why would anyone want to hurt me?””
Richard rubbed his forehead.
“Because you inherited something.””
I shook my head.
“Jordan inherited nothing from you.””
Richard looked at me.
“That's where you're wrong.””
He opened his briefcase and removed a document.
It was a copy of our father's will.
I recognized the signature.
But I had never seen this version.
“What is this?””
“The original inheritance agreement.””
I scanned the first page.
My father had divided his estate between his two sons, but there was an additional clause.
A trust had been established for the first male descendant of the Hayes family.
The beneficiary was Jordan.
I looked up.
“Why didn't I know about this?””
Richard shrugged.
“Because Dad didn't want you involved.””
“How much money?””
“Thirty-two million dollars.””
Jordan laughed in disbelief.
“I'm supposed to believe someone wants to kill me over money I didn't know existed?””
Richard looked at him.
“You were supposed to receive it when you turned twenty-five.””
I frowned.
“Jordan is twenty-six.””
“Exactly.””
“Where is the money?””
Richard closed the briefcase.
“It's gone.””
I stared at him.
“What do you mean, gone?””
“Your father moved it shortly before he died.””
“Where?””
Richard hesitated.
“Into a private trust.””
Samuel suddenly stepped forward.
“Not a private trust.””
Richard looked at him.
Samuel pulled out his phone.
“Into an account controlled by Denise.””
Denise stood abruptly.
“That's not true!””
Samuel showed us a bank statement.
The account number matched the one on the transfer documents Richard had brought earlier.
Jordan looked at his mother.
“Mom?””
Denise began shaking her head.
“I never touched that money.””
Richard laughed.
“You received it.””
“Because your father told me to hold it until Jordan was old enough.””
“And you spent it.””
Denise's eyes widened.
“I did not.””
Richard placed another document on the table.
It was a series of transfers.
Over the previous five years, money had moved from the trust into several accounts.
Some belonged to Denise.
Others belonged to a company called Carter Holdings.
I recognized the name.
It was the company Richard had established shortly after our father died.
I looked at him.
“You transferred the money.””
Richard shrugged.
“Your father owed me.””
“For what?””
“For keeping his secrets.””
Jordan stepped forward.
“You stole my inheritance?””
Richard looked at him.
“I raised you indirectly. I protected you.””
“You didn't raise me. Denise did.””
Richard's face hardened.
“And she did a terrible job of protecting you from the truth.””
Denise began crying.
I looked at the documents.
“Where is the money now?””
Samuel answered.
“Most of it is gone. But there is still one account.””
He handed me a sheet of paper.
The account was registered under the name Daniel Carter.
I stared at it.
“Why would Daniel have the money?””
“Because your father left instructions that the trust could only be accessed by the first biological son who survived to adulthood.””
Jordan frowned.
“Then why would it be in Daniel's name?””
Samuel looked at him.
“Because Daniel was the firstborn.””
Richard stepped backward.
I turned toward him.
“Is that true?””
He nodded slowly.
“Daniel was born twenty minutes before Jordan.””
Jordan looked stunned.
“Then the money belongs to him?””
“According to the original will, yes.””
Samuel shook his head.
“Not exactly. Your grandfather amended the will before he died.””
He removed another page.
The amendment stated that if Daniel could not be located, the trust would pass to his siblings.
Jordan and Aaliyah.
I read the document again.
Thirty-two million dollars.
My father had separated four children, hidden their identities, and created a financial arrangement that would keep them connected long after he was gone.
But there was something else.
The amendment had been signed only four months before his death.
I looked at Samuel.
“Who witnessed this?””
He pointed to the bottom.
Two signatures.
Richard Hayes.
And Denise Carter.
I turned toward my wife.
“You knew about this?””
Denise nodded slowly.
“Your father told me he wanted to make things right.””
“Then why did you pay Samuel to stay away?””
“Because Richard threatened to expose Jordan's adoption if I didn't.””
Richard shook his head.
“She agreed because she wanted the money.””
Denise stood.
“You told me if I didn't cooperate, you'd destroy Jordan's life!””
“I told you the truth would come out eventually.””
“You said you would make sure Michael never found out about the children!””
Jordan stepped between them.
“Stop!””
His voice echoed through the living room.
“I'm tired of hearing all of you talk about me like I'm a bank account.””
He looked at me.
“Dad, I need to know who I am.””
I approached him.
“You're my son.””
“But biologically?””
I swallowed.
“That's something we'll establish with proper testing.””
He nodded.
Then he turned toward Aaliyah.
“And you?””
She wiped her cheeks.
“I'm still your sister. Nothing changes that.””
Jordan hugged her.
For the first time since the nightmare began, I saw the two of them find comfort in each other.
Then Samuel's phone rang.
He looked at the screen.
His expression changed.
“It's him.””
“Who?”” I asked.
Samuel answered.
“Daniel?””
A man's voice came through the speaker.
It was weak and breathless.
“Samuel?””
Everyone froze.
Samuel put the call on speaker.
“Where have you been?””
“I can't explain. I don't have much time.””
Samuel closed his eyes.
“Are you alive?””
A short, bitter laugh came through the phone.
“Apparently.””
Aaliyah began crying.
Jordan grabbed the back of a chair.
I stepped closer.
“Daniel, this is Michael Hayes.””
There was a pause.
Then the man spoke.
“Your father's son?””
“Yes.””
“I've wanted to meet you for a long time.””
“Where are you?””
“I can't tell you that yet.””
“Why not?””
“Because the people who tried to kill me still believe I'm dead.””
Richard slowly moved toward the front door.
I noticed.
“Stay where you are,” I ordered.
Daniel continued.
“Samuel, listen. I found the original hospital records. All four babies.
The real names. Everything.””
Samuel leaned toward the phone.
“Where?””
“Under the old family house.””
I frowned.
“What old family house?””
“The property your grandfather owned before he died.””
I remembered it.
A large colonial house outside town, abandoned after my father's death.
Daniel's voice grew weaker.
“There's a room beneath the basement. He kept everything there.””
“What everything?”” I asked.
“Birth certificates. DNA reports. Adoption papers. And a letter addressed to Michael.””
My throat tightened.
“What does the letter say?””
Daniel went silent.
Then he answered.
“It explains why your father separated the children.””
I looked at Richard.
He had stopped near the door.
Daniel continued.
“But there's something else you need to know.””
“What?””
“Your father didn't die naturally.””
The room went completely still.
I felt my knees weaken.
“What are you saying?””
“I found the original medical report. Someone changed the cause of death.””
Richard suddenly rushed toward the door.
Jordan caught him.
“Where are you going?””
Richard struggled.
“Let me go!””
I stepped toward him.
“Daniel, who killed my father?””
The voice on the phone became barely audible.
“Michael, look at the woman standing beside you.””
I turned.
Denise was frozen.
Daniel continued.
“Your father was poisoned three days before he died.””
I looked at my wife.
She began shaking her head.
“No. No, that's not true.””
Daniel's final words came through the speaker.
“The person who gave him the poison was the same person who signed the adoption papers.””
The call disconnected.
I stared at Denise.
She looked at me through tears.
“Michael, I can explain.””
I couldn't speak.
Jordan slowly released Richard.
Samuel picked up the phone.
And then Richard, still standing beside the door, said something that made everything even worse.
“Don't listen to Daniel.””
I turned toward him.
“Why?””
Richard's expression was cold.
“Because Daniel wasn't the only person who had access to your father's medication.””
He pointed at the hallway.
“At the time your father died, someone else was living in this house.””
I frowned.
“Who?””
Richard looked directly at Jordan.
“Your son.””
Jordan's face went white.
“That's impossible. I was three years old.””
Richard shook his head.
“No, Jordan.””
He paused.
“You were twenty-two. And you visited your grandfather the night he died.””
I stared at my brother.
Jordan stepped backward.
Then his phone vibrated.
An unknown number.
One message.
Don't trust Richard. He knows who killed your grandfather. And he knows why you were really adopted.
Jordan slowly turned the screen toward me.
A second message arrived.
Come to the old family house alone. Midnight. Bring the locket.
Aaliyah touched the silver necklace around her throat.
May you like
And for the first time, I realized the locket might contain more than a photograph.
It might be the key to the room beneath my father's old house.
