Chapter 8: The Boy Who Remembered Everything
We found Samuel at 6:30 that morning.
Nia had an address written inside her notebook. It was a small apartment building on the outskirts of the city, above a closed pharmacy and beside a laundromat.
I parked across the street.
The neighborhood looked ordinary.
A delivery truck was unloading boxes. An elderly man was walking a golden retriever. A woman in a red coat was struggling with a stroller.
Nothing suggested that the young man living upstairs was at the center of a family secret involving millions of dollars, a missing inheritance, and a dead man who had returned from the grave.
Nia pointed toward the third-floor window.
"That's his apartment.""
"How do you know?""
"I visited him twice with your father.""
I looked at her.
"Why didn't you tell me?""
She lowered her eyes.
"Your father made me promise.""
I turned off the engine.
"Did he tell Samuel who I was?""
"No. Samuel thought you were a business associate.""
I stared at the building.
My younger brother had lived less than twenty miles from me for years.
He had probably walked past my office.
He might have seen my photograph in the newspaper.
And I hadn't known he existed.
"Let's go.""
We climbed the stairs.
Nia knocked three times.
Nothing.
She knocked again.
A chair scraped inside.
Then a man's voice called out.
"Who's there?""
"It's Nia.""
Silence.
Then the door opened slightly.
A young man appeared.
He had dark hair, tired eyes, and a small scar above his left eyebrow.
The moment I saw him, I recognized the boy from the swimming pool photograph.
Sam.
He stared at Nia.
Then his gaze moved to me.
"Who are you?""
I swallowed.
"My name is Michael Anderson.""
His expression changed.
He opened the door wider.
For several seconds, neither of us spoke.
Then he stepped backward.
"Come in.""
His apartment was small but clean.
A secondhand sofa sat beside a narrow dining table. There were books stacked near the window and a framed photograph of a woman on the mantelpiece.
I recognized her from the hospital photograph.
Claire.
Samuel's mother.
He noticed me looking.
"She died when I was little.""
"I'm sorry.""
He nodded.
"People usually say that.""
I looked at him.
"Did you know my father?""
Samuel gave a small, humorless smile.
"Which one?""
The question caught me off guard.
"Richard.""
He sat down.
"Yes. He visited me sometimes.""
"Why didn't he tell me?""
Samuel looked toward Nia.
"Because he thought it would destroy your relationship.""
I frowned.
"What relationship?""
"Your relationship with Vanessa.""
I felt my stomach tighten.
Samuel leaned forward.
"She came here three weeks ago.""
I stared at him.
"What did she want?""
"She said she had money for me.""
"How much?""
"Two hundred thousand dollars.""
I felt anger rising.
"Why?""
"She said it was my inheritance. She wanted me to sign a document confirming that I had received everything I was owed.""
"Did you sign?""
Samuel shook his head.
"No.""
"Why not?""
He stood and walked toward the kitchen.
"Because the document said I was voluntarily giving up all claims against the Anderson family.""
He returned with a folder.
"I called your father.""
I looked at him.
"What did he say?""
"He told me not to sign anything. Then he asked me to meet him the following week.""
"Did you?""
Samuel nodded.
"That was the last time I saw him before he was moved to the nursing facility.""
I sat down opposite him.
"Samuel, I need to ask you something.""
He looked at me.
"Were you in the car the night my mother died?""
His face went still.
Nia closed her eyes.
Samuel stared at his hands.
"Yes.""
I felt my throat tighten.
"Tell me what happened.""
He didn't speak immediately.
Instead, he walked to the mantelpiece and picked up a small wooden box.
Inside was an old toy car.
A blue convertible.
"I was eight," he said.
"Your mother had promised to take me to see the Christmas lights. Claire was sick, so she asked your mother to bring me home.""
I stared at him.
"My mother?""
He nodded.
"She was kind to me. She always treated me like I belonged.""
He swallowed.
"We were driving along the highway when another car started following us.""
"Who was driving?""
"I couldn't see clearly at first.""
He rubbed his forehead.
"Your mother kept checking the rearview mirror. Then she called someone.""
"Who?""
"I don't know. She said, 'I have the papers. You need to stop this before Richard finds out.''"
My heart pounded.
"What happened next?""
Samuel looked directly at me.
"The other car hit us.""
I felt my chest tighten.
"Are you saying it wasn't an accident?""
He shook his head.
"No.""
He reached into the wooden box and removed a folded piece of paper.
It was yellowed and damaged.
"I found this in my mother's belongings years later. I didn't understand it then.""
I unfolded it.
It was a photograph of a document.
An insurance policy.
My mother's name.
Five million dollars.
The same policy Vanessa had shown me.
But there was something else.
A handwritten note beneath the policy.
If Richard refuses to cooperate, use the boy.
I looked up.
"What boy?""
Samuel's eyes filled with tears.
"Me.""
I stared at him.
He continued.
"Your mother had discovered that someone was using my identity to move money through your father's company. She found documents proving that the trust was being manipulated.""
I looked at the paper again.
"Who was using your identity?""
Samuel shook his head.
"I don't know. But I remember hearing a voice that night.""
"What voice?""
He looked toward the window.
"Edward.""
The name hung between us.
"Edward was in the other car?""
Samuel nodded.
"He got out after the crash. Your mother was still alive. I was trapped in the back seat.""
My hands began to shake.
"What did he do?""
Samuel's voice broke.
"He told her to give him the documents.""
I couldn't breathe.
"Did she?""
"No.""
Samuel looked at me.
"She told him that if anything happened to her, Richard would know everything.""
I sat motionless.
"Then what?""
Samuel wiped his eyes.
"Edward walked away.""
I stared at him.
"He left her there?""
Samuel nodded.
"Your mother died before the ambulance arrived.""
I lowered my head.
For twelve years, I had imagined a drunk driver losing control.
A tragic accident.
A random moment of bad luck.
Now I was hearing that someone had deliberately chased my mother, demanded documents, and walked away while she died.
I looked at Samuel.
"Why didn't you tell the police?""
"I tried.""
"What?""
"When I was older, I went to the police station. But the report said the driver had been identified and died at the scene.""
"That wasn't true.""
"No. It wasn't.""
He reached for another document.
"This is why your father wanted to protect me.""
I examined it.
It was a copy of a police statement.
The witness signature was at the bottom.
*Vanessa Collins.*
I stared at the name.
"Vanessa was there?""
Samuel nodded.
"She was in the second car.""
I looked at him.
"She was with Edward?""
"Yes.""
My phone suddenly rang.
The screen showed an unfamiliar number.
I answered.
A woman's voice spoke urgently.
"Mr. Anderson? My name is Laura. I work at your father's nursing facility.""
"What happened?""
"Your wife is here.""
My stomach tightened.
"Vanessa?""
"Yes. She says she has authorization to transfer your father to another facility.""
"Don't let her!""
Laura lowered her voice.
"There's another problem.""
"What?""
"Your father has disappeared.""
I stood so quickly that the chair fell backward.
"What do you mean disappeared?""
"His room is empty. His medication is still here. And the security footage shows someone entering his room at 5:12 this morning.""
"Who?""
Laura hesitated.
May you like
Then she said:
"Edward Collins.""
